Everything has changed
by MGM7786
Summary: Many years were left to question after the battle with only vague details to speak for them, but what exactly happened? Join your favorite characters as they grow relationships, create families, and move on from the devestation of the war. This story doesn't follow the epilogue completely, but does follow all canon pairings. M for language and later adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

** Hi Readers! This is a plot/idea that is written a lot, but it's one of my favorite kinds of HP stories to read, and I hope to continue this for a long time, both in my world and the character's world. This is mostly on cannon with a few changed details here and there that I liked better. The relationships are going to remain the same throughout the story, however. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to review with what you liked and suggestions for the story in the future, as I have some ideas but not any real details. Also, I don't own the characters or anything. Let's just say this is for all the chapters.**

Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked slowly back through the rubble and the mess that had been the battle only hours ago. The courtyard was like a deserted wasteland, with no one in sight. Only the faint sound of the wind could be heard and a distant cry of a bird who seemed miles away. Harry couldn't even think or walk straight because he was so exhausted. He thought about going and seeing the one person who had kept him going throughout the past year when all he wanted to do was give up, and he saw her in the hall, sitting in silence with her family, but the hall was crowded and he had no intention or even the faintest desire to interact with anyone else right now. Ron and Hermione glanced over at him, and he could see that they were as dead inside as he was. They knew he didn't want to enter the hall, but they felt the need to be with each other and their family members. Hermione felt torn but Harry gave her a weak smile and she entered the hall with her boyfriend, keeping the worried expression and looking back at him watching them go in. Harry stood there for a few moments longer, watching Ginny, wondering if she would even want to see him or talk to him ever again, based on what he'd done to her, even though it was all done for her protection. After what seemed like forever, he walked wearily up to Gryffindor tower and collapsed in his former bed, not even bothering to take off his shoes, coat, or glasses. He drifted quickly into a deep, dreamless, sleep.

What seemed to Harry like only moments later, his eyes, strained and crusted over with dirt and dried blood as they were, opened slowly. He saw Ron across the room in his own bed, fast asleep and snoring loudly. Hermione, who had obviously showered and gotten fresh clothing, was sitting next to him on his bed, stroking his hair and watching him with a mixture of love and worry on her face, and Harry could see the faintest smile on her face as she sat with her boyfriend. He then heard someone behind him and felt a pair of arms wrapped around him and turned around to face his own girlfriend, who was sleeping peacefully and was breathing softly against his neck. Harry smiled softly and stroked her beautiful red hair back off her face. Ginny felt his hand on her forehead, her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled at him, receiving an exhausted, forced one in return.

Harry felt disgusting and desperately wanted to shower, so he got up gingerly, not wanting to hurt his many bruises or abrasions further. He walked slowly, almost zombie like, into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. As it heated, he undressed and examined himself in the mirror. He was completely covered in dirt, grime, and dried blood, which had crusted over parts of his entire body. His face was practically covered in blood coming from a large gash on the left side of his face near his forehead, as well as various other cuts and bruises covering his face and arms. Other than being more tired than they had ever been, his legs were unscathed. The thing that drew his attention the most was a large gash-bruise type thing in the center of his chest, spreading outward in a dark bruise so it covered his entire chest and part of his upper abdomen. He was aghast at what he saw but decided it was best to first wash off all of the dirt and blood so he could see how extensive his injuries actually were. The boy stepped into the hot water and flinched as it hit his wounds, but then found it felt better than anything he'd felt in a long time, as he hadn't taken a shower, much less a hot one, in weeks. After he had been just standing under the water for over 15 minutes, he heard a soft knock on the door, and he heard someone enter. Harry was too tired and weak to be too concerned about who it was but he heard the person set something down and Ginny's voice said "Harry, I brought you a warm towel and some fresh clean clothes, and I'm taking your dirty ones to get washed". Harry didn't reply, but Ginny knew he had heard her and appreciated what she had done. She exited the bathroom, the door closing softly behind her. Harry began to wash himself very carefully, not wanting to irritate his skin. Once he was as clean as he was going to get with one shower, he stepped out onto the soft rug in front of the shower, which helped ease his tired feet. He grabbed the towel and began dressing.

Outside the bathroom, Ron was still sleeping soundly, while Hermione had moved over to sit beside Ginny, and was leaning on her, trying not to fall asleep. They heard the door creak open and Harry walked out, still slowly and obviously in pain, but wasn't anywhere near as dirty or as tired looking as he had been. Ginny jumped up and walked him back over to sit between Hermione and herself, and he started silently crying, leaning on Ginny. He didn't say what he was upset about, but both girls understood him completely. After a few minutes, he stopped crying, and asked how long he had been sleeping, to no one in particular. "About 30 hours, Harry" Hermione replied. He only nodded, looking slightly surprised.

"Why don't we walk down to the great hall, and grab some breakfast" Harry looked concerned but Ginny assured him saying, "A lot of people have already gone home, so there aren't that many people left in the hall" That seemed to ease him, so he nodded and they started walking slowly, Ginny partially supporting Harry, down to the great hall. When they arrived, Ginny seemed to have been wrong, as about a hundred and fifty people still remained in the hall, all eating what seemed to be lunch, as Harry had no idea what time it was. He hadn't for the last few months, in fact. He looked over at her, worried, and she assured him it would be fine, so he grudgingly walked in with her, heading towards the entire Weasley family who were seated at the far end of the hall. As they walked, people started to look up and notice Harry, and began to stare. He squeezed her hand with a sense of urgency and leaned his head on her shoulder, and she received his message and looked up to see almost everyone looking at them. "Hey!" Ginny yelled "Mind your own business, and worry about yourselves. Harry doesn't need or want people staring at him now or ever, so just bugger off." At this, everyone quickly became very interested in the conversations they were having, or a spot of dirt on the floor, trying not to stare but looking up every so often at Harry, trying not to get caught. Harry thanked her by squeezing her hand and she turned her neck to kiss the top of his head. As they reached the table, the Weasleys looked up at him, and mrs. Weasley immediately jumped up and wrapped him in a hug, making sure he was ok. After he had eaten very little, but was forced by Mrs. Weasley, Harry leaned back against Ginny trying hard to keep his eyes open.

Later that day, Harry was called to Professor Mcgonagall's office, who had recently become headmaster of Hogwarts, along with Hermione and Ron. They entered her office, which looked identical to how it had when Dumbledore was still headmaster, with the exception of a new portrait of Dumbledore himself, who was currently snoring in his frame. She was sitting at the desk and called them to do the same in three chairs that Harry presumed had been conjured moments prior. She started by asking each how they were then jumped right into her business. "As I'm sure you are aware, you all missed a whole year of school, along with your NEWTs, which are essential for getting a job in the wizarding community. While you had quite an excuse, and no one is blaming you or is mad at you, your education is valuable." Hermione nodded vigorously, while the boys were more hesitant, knowing what was coming. "I would like to extend you the offer of coming back to Hogwarts next year to complete your education." Hermione looked absolutely thrilled at the prospect, and immediately accepted, which pleased Mcgonagall. Harry looked over at Ron, who was considering it, but Harry knew he was ready to get out of school and start doing what he loved. After neither of the boys responded, the professor started talking again. "I know this prospect is not for everyone, so I have another offer, which may be more appealing to you. Minister Shacklebolt has thought about what you three have done and has decided that any of you would be allowed to enter the auror training program starting in the fall, and you would only need a year and a half of training, as opposed to the usual three, though the training would be more vigorous. Both Ron and Harry looked pleased at this offer, though they both knew this was not something Hermione would be interested in in the slightest.

"None of us have taken any NEWTs classes or tests. Does the minister know that?" Ron thought this offer was too good to be true.

"That is correct, Mr. Weasley. Based on what you three have accomplished, it is obvious that you would be fully prepared and capable" The headmaster confirmed. Ron immediately told her he would be interested and she nodded. She then turned to Harry to find out his thoughts.

"If it's ok with you professor, I'd like to stay at school for another year" It was the first time he had spoken in days. She nodded in agreement.

"Mr. Weasley, an owl will arrive at the Burrow in a few days time from the Minister informing you about your program. You may leave if you wish, as I'm going to discuss next year's school arrangements for Miss Granger and Mr. Potter. At that, Ron got up and left to wait outside the door, and the Professor addressed the remaining teenagers. "As you can probably guess, you will be seventh years next year, and will stay in their dorms, and be in their classes. Because of what you have already learned, you will not be required to take all the seventh year courses, and will have some free periods. Those courses include DADA, Charms, and I hardly think you need Divination in your schedule." Harry chuckled at this and Hermione had a bemused expression on her face. "Because of this, you will both will have three free periods, discluding electives."

"I would like to take more electives in my free periods" Hermione hurriedly said, not giving it any thought. The head Mistress nodded and then turned to Harry

"I presume you would not be interested in this?" Harry confirmed so she continued "In that case, I would like to offer you the position of DADA professor for the first through fourth years. We've haven't been able to find a new full time professor and you definitely know what you're doing." Harry was very surprised at this proposal and tentatively accepted. He couldn't help but smile, genuinely excited about something for the first time in months.

"Oh that's absolutely wonderful, Harry!" Hermione hugged Him, ecstatic.

"Don't worry, we will work your schedule and classes around when you're teaching so you can fit everything in. We will be able to pay you a part time salary for the job. We will work out the rest later. You all are dismissed. Thank you very much" She smiled at them as they walked out to meet Ron.


	2. Chapter 2

It's been so long since I've updated but I've been working on it slowly and I have a lot written. I've been in a writing phase, so I may get another chapter very soon. Review and enjoy!

When Harry and Hermione had told Ron about their arrangement with McGonagall, he had been excited for them but he was also feeling slightly dejected at the thought of Harry not training to become an Auror with him. They all walked down to the Great Hall and Hermione and Ron sat down with their families. Harry stood next to Ginny and put out his hand, asking her to walk with him. She complied and together they walked out of the castle. "Hey Gin," Harry said finally when they were far away from the castle near the lake. "I'm confused." Ginny gave him a puzzled look and he continued, "I mean, I just thought you were going to be so pissed at me, and maybe you would never want to see me again after what I did. I was fully prepared for that, and I wouldn't even have blamed you."

"Harry, I'm not going to tell you what you did didn't hurt me an incredible amount, but I do understand why you did it, and I respect you for that. I figured it wasn't fair to make you hurt more after all you've done, and how much I assume it hurt you to leave me as well." He nodded. "I'm still mad at you, and I was planning on not getting back together with you so quickly, but when I saw you 'dead' it just hurt so much, I knew I couldn't live without you. I know that's cheesy, but I really don't know how else to say it." Harry brought her chin up and kissed her, making her smile.

"I know what I did was a really terrible thing to do, I didn't really think it through. I guess I thought what I was doing was the right thing, and it would protect you, as much as it hurt me in the process. I'm so sorry, and I promise not to do it again. If you'll take me back" he added hopefully and with regret. She leaned against him, looking out on the lake, and nodded into his chest. He smiled and kissed her head.

"I love you." Harry smiled even bigger, hearing her say those words for the first time.

"I love you too, Gin." They stood there for what seemed like hours, watching the sunset, forgetting about everything but each other.

After a while, a breeze started to blow through the grounds, and they got chilly, deciding to walk back up to the castle. When they arrived, they were immediately intercepted by Molly. "Harry, Ginny, we've been looking for you. We're all going to head back to the Burrow in a few minutes." She looked very tired and her face was tear-stained, but they could both tell she was trying to distract herself from the death of her son only a couple of days earlier. Ginny knew Harry felt very responsible for this tragedy, so she quickly changed the subject on both of their minds.

"Ok mum, what can we do to help get things ready?" A few minutes later, the whole family, plus Hermione and Harry, was ready to head home.

It had only been a few days, but as the family walked through the door of the Burrow, it felt like weeks, maybe months, since they had been there. Harry looked over at George, who had been looking like his life was over, like he had nothing left in him, like half of him was missing, since the battle. Harry couldn't bear seeing him like that, knowing he was responsible. He turned and walked outside, not feeling like he was allowed to cry, seeing as he wasn't the one who had lost a family member. He walked to the side of the house, out of view of the family, so no one would come after him, and started to sob, shaking. Moments later, Harry looked up, startled, feeling an arm wrapped around him. He looked over, thinking it would be Ginny, but instead, he saw his best friend, his sister. "Hermione," he said trying to cover his sniffles.

"Hey," she said softly "I know how you're feeling responsible for this and it isn't helped by the fact that you lost people too, and you're feeling sad about it." He nodded, knowing everything she said was true. "You need to stop." She said it kindly but abruptly. "Nothing that happened was your fault. In fact, if you hadn't been there and done what you did, people would be a whole lot worse off. While this will be difficult for the Weasleys for a while, and they're probably going to shut down and grieve, please keep in mind that they don't blame you and they know that what you did prevented more of them from being hurt or dying. If anything, they're grateful to you." He nodded again, staring off into the distance.

"That's what everyone has been saying"

"Then shouldn't you believe it?" Harry shrugged

"I guess, I just... feel like if I had done things differently," She cut him off.

"Something worse would have happened. This was bigger than you, and everyone fighting knew that in order for this to be resolved, there would have to be sacrifices. If you hadn't stopped him, we would all be dead or worse off."

"Thank you" he replied with a small, sad smile. The two friends headed slowly back in the direction of the Burrow. When they walked inside, they saw the Weasley's sitting around the table, clearly discussing something important, all still visibly upset. Harry and Hermione quietly walked up the stairs, not wanting to interrupt, and both sat down on Ginny's bed, where Hermione would be staying, as it was closer than going to Ron's, and neither of them wanted to be alone. Harry's eyelids felt heavy and he drifted into a deep sleep, leaning on Hermione's shoulder.

Harry started awake and moved to get up, only to feel someone's arm draped over his middle and soft breathing on his neck. He turned over to see his newly restored girlfriend sleeping soundly. He was surprised to see her there but even more surprised that he was in her bed. He remembered sitting with Hermione last night, but he figured he would have been awakened and gone to Ron's room when the Weasleys came up. Not that he was complaining. It was still dark outside her window so he got up quietly as not to wake Ginny, and tiptoed up to Ron's room, thinking Mrs. Weasley and her sons would not be happy about him being in their younger sister's room. When he got there, however, he found Ron and Hermione in a similar position he had just been in with Ginny, both of them asleep. He tried not to think about it and went to sit in the hallway outside the door, so tired he fell asleep resting his head on his propped up knees. Later, he awoke again to the sun streaming through the open door leading to Bill's room, which was close to Ron's. He stood up and stretched, as the position he was previously in was severely uncomfortable. Ron's door stood ajar, so Harry peeked inside, seeing Hermione on her own, back to the door, hunched over reading something. He knocked softly and walked over to the bed and sat next to her as she looked over her shoulder at him. "Hey," she yawned. "I'm sorry about last night's sleeping arrangements. When Ginny came up to her room, you were sleeping and we decided to let you continue, so I figured I'd go upstairs to Ron's room." Harry nodded with a smirk

"How thoughtful of you" She hit him with a pillow.

"We didn't do anything!" Hermione retorted defensively.

"Of course not, you only slept together" he replied still wearing the smirk. "Don't try to tell that off, I came up here a few hours ago and saw you, and I had to sleep in the hall.

"Why didn't you just stay with Ginny?" He looked at her incredulously.

"Are you kidding? Do you know what would happen to me if any of her brothers had caught me?"

"That's fair" she grinned. They walked down the stairs, and as they passed the rooms of the various family members, they noticed that they were all empty. It occurred to Harry that they hadn't heard the usual sounds of the family all morning. "Hey Harry, what are we going to do now?" There was a long silence, and he replied,

"I don't have any plan. To be honest, I was very sure I wasn't going to make it through all this. I mean I know I'm going to Hogwarts, but other than that, I really have no idea."

"I figured you wanted to return to Hogwarts because you didn't know what else to do. It's kind of the same for me. Except I have to find my parents."

"Are you going alone?"

"I was thinking of asking Ron to come with me, I don't want to go by myself. I would ask you, but you need to sort yourself out and spend time with Ginny. Also, I'm sure you need a break."

"And you want to go with Ron. I get it. If I had to do that, I would probably ask Gin." He went quiet. By that time they had reached the bottom of the stairs, and they walked out into the yard to try to find the family. They saw them on the other side of the yard, all gathered around a coffin, with who could only be Fred inside. They were all holding their wands above their heads creating golden rings around their brother and son. Hermione and Harry stood back watching, not wanting to interrupt. The rings disappeared and they all dropped their wands to their sides, and they all burst into tears again. Harry was watching Ginny, with his own tears streaming down his face. Ginny buried her face in her hands, leaning against Bill, who was standing completely still, and while his back was to Harry, he knew he was devastated by this but was trying to stay strong for his younger brothers and sister. George had stepped back, staring at his twin, barely able to breathe or cry, completely destroyed by the loss of his brother and best friend.

Not wanting to violate the family's privacy, the two unrelated children walked back through the house and sat down on the couch. This allowed Harry to fully fall apart, and he and Hermione leaned on each other, silent tears streaming down their faces.

A half-hour later, when the Weasley family came through the door, Harry and Hermione stood up and made to leave the room, trying to allow privacy, but were stopped by Arthur.

"Harry, Hermione, how are you?" Harry walked back over to him and gave him a hug.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Weasley." Arthur held Harry at arms length.

"You had absolutely nothing to do with this, I need you to understand that."

"I'm still sorry"

"You can be sorry for our loss, but you're not allowed to feel guilty for anthing that happened. We absolutely do not blame you. If you were to ask Molly or any of the kids, they would tell you the same thing." Hermione gave him an 'I told you so' look from behind Mr Weasley. Harry heard a chorus of 'Yeah Harry it's not your fault' and 'you saved us if anything' and other things of the sort and he looked up to the remainder of the Weasleys, save George, all looking at him with kind eyes, and for the first time, Harry believed what everyone had been saying to him since the battle. He moved and gave all of them a hug, whispering that he was so so sorry. When he reached Ginny, he whispered to her

"Come with me outside, will you?" She nodded and grabbed his hand, leading him away from her family members.

They sat down resting against a tree, their hands still intertwined. "About last night" Harry started

"It was a spur of the moment desision, I don't really know what I was thinking"

"I loved being with you, but can you imagine if one of your brothers had walked in? Even if we weren't doing anything, it must have looked pretty bad." The same grin that Hermione had gotten played across Ginny's face, she was clearly imagining it.

"Yeah, we should probably avoid that" she giggled and leaned into him. "Hey," Ginny said after a few minutes of comfortable silence, "I'm glad you're coming back to school with me." He squeezed her hand

"So am I"


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing the last few chapters. I usually don't update this often, don't expect it again, but in quarantine I don't really have anything else to do:) If you have any suggestions for pairings to focus on or plot points/suggestions, let me know and I'll try to work them in. I'm always open to ideas. I've already had a request for more Ron and Hermione dialogue/interaction so I'm going to try to include that in the coming chapters. Also, I never proofread any of my chapters because it takes too long, so if there are any errors, I apologize. Thanks and enjoy!

Two months had passed since the battle and most people had found healing, and were slowly recovering. Hogwarts had planned a memorial for later that day and the Weasley family was preparing to go. The past two months had been a recovery period for everyone, with funerals to attend and things of the sort, as well as going through the grieving process. Now that they were going back to Hogwarts, there was a lot to be done, and not a lot of time to do it before the three youngest returned to school. But today was about the memorial. Hogwarts had waited this long to host it because there was repair to be done, and they had set a memorial of a sort up that was to be a surprise for the memorial attendees. When they arrived, they were directed to the back of the castle, where rows of chairs had been set up with a stage and podium at the front. The group walked over, seeing practically everyone who had been involved who was still alive. Teddy Lupin had come with Harry and Harry held him as he looked around wide eyed, never having seen this many people in one place before. As they found their seats, the new Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shakelbolt approached them. "Harry, it's good to see you."

"You too, Minister" Teddy squirmed in Harry's arms.

"Is it too much to ask you to say a few words today? I'm sure everyone would love to hear from you." Slightly suprised, Harry replied,

"Of course, I'll just need a minute or two to prepare if that's ok."

"Yes, you won't be speaking until later in the service." He greeted the Weasleys and walked away, seeing someone else he had to speak with. They all mingled among themselves until they were called to be seated. Harry sat with Teddy on his lap next to Ginny, his hand tightly clasped in hers.

The service started with a list of names, all those lost in the war, displayed in the sky in gold lettering. When FRED GIDEON WEASLEY appeared, Ginny squeezed his hand and buried her head in his shoulder. He squeezed back comfortingly. Harry looked over at George, who had barely spoken a word since he had lost his twin. He was sobbing silently, keeping to himself. When Remus' and Tonks' names were shown, Harry kissed Teddy on the top of his head, and it was Ginny's turn to comfort Harry.

The service seemed to last forever, with different people speaking, all seeming to say the same thing. Finally, it was Harry's turn to speak. He hadn't really planned out what to say, he just figured he'd say what felt right when he got up there. He placed Teddy on Ginny's lap and walked up to the stage.

"Hi everyone, thank you all for coming" he said nervously looking out at the expectant and weepy crowd. He really wasn't much for public speaking. "To be honest, I didn't prepare anything for this. I was just informed an hour ago that I would be speaking, so I didn't have much time. Thanks Minister" he looked over at Kingsley when he said this, which elicited some laughs from the crowd. "As many of you know, I wasn't at school last year because I was off hunting down Voldemort. I'd rather not share all of it, because it is quite personal, and I don't want anyone getting ideas on how to be a dark lord" another small laugh at this "But there is one thing I would like everyone to know. These past few months, I've been getting a lot of credit and press about all of this, but there is no way I could have done it alone. The entire time I was away, I was joined by my best friend Ron Weasley, and my everything-but-blood sister, Hermione Granger. Without these two, I would have been dead two days into the journey. They have both made extrodinary sacrifices for me, their families, and everyone here." He looked out at them in the crowd, both smiling at him. "I'll also say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the loss that's occured that has affected every one of you, in one way or another." he paused for a minute "I don't really know what else to say, other then thank you all so much for the sacrifices you have made and the things you did that without them, I don't know where I or any of the rest of us would be." He smiled and walked off the stage. When he returned to his seat, he got a tearful hug from Hermione, and a returned Teddy for his lap, as well as a discreet kiss from Ginny. The service continued, and before he knew it, the Minister was calling his name.

"Would Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter please come to the stage?" The six of them got up looking around questioningly at the others. "For her work in continuing Dumbledore's Army and fighting in the battle of Hogwarts, I award Luna Lovegood Order of Merlin, Second Class." The crowd cheered and Luna looked stunned as she accepted her medal. "For her work in continuing and leading Dumbledore's Army and fighting in the battle of Hogwarts, I award Ginny Weasley Order of Merlin, Second Class. Another cheer, this time louder. Ginny beamed and looked out at her family, all cheering loudly. "For his work in continuing and leading Dumbledore's Army, in his 5th and 7th years including correspondence with alliances outside of Hogwarts, and fighting in the battle of Hogwarts, I award Neville Longbottom Order of Merlin, Second Class." They all looked over at Neville as the crowd erupted once more. He looked prouder then any of them had ever seen him. "For his assistance to Harry Potter, incredible loyalty, making an incredible victory of life-size wizards chess, assisting in the founding of Dumbledore's Army, and numerous other accomplishments, I award Ron Weasley Order of Merlin, Second Class." Another round of applause, especially coming from the Weasley clan. Ron looked over the moon. "For her assistance to Harry Potter this past year, incredible intellegence and bravery, which saved many people countless times, assisting in the founding of Dumbledore's Army, and numerous other accomplishments, I award Hermione Granger Order of Merlin, Second Class." Even more cheers. Hermione was incredibly excited and shocked. "Last, but certainly not least, for his incredible bravery since age 11 and the destruction of Voldemort, not once, but twice, founding Dumbledore's Army, as well as countless other accomplishments, I award Harry Potter Order of Merlin... First Class." The cheers were so loud no one could hear anything. Harry was stunned at such an honor. The six were dismissed back to their seats and they all recieved hugs from everyone. The service ended fairly quickly after that, with one more announcement from the Minister. "A memorial has been set up on the third floor inside the castle for all those lost in the war. Please spend some time there if you are able." At that, people got up and started to leave, either going to the memorial, or going home.

The group headed up toward the castle, curious as to what the memorial could be. Everyone except George. He walked away from the crowd towards the edge of the lake, hands in his pockets staring into the distance. Percy turned and saw him, but knew it was best to leave him be. He'd come around when he was ready. Percy knew this had absolutely destroyed him, and he would never truly be the same, but he also knew it was George, one of the infamous Weasley twins. He would bounce back. He just needed time.

Percy turned back to the group and they all headed up into the castle and up to the third floor. What they saw when they arrived made Hermione gasp and Ginny tear up, which as everyone who knew her knew, was not a common occurence.

Lining the hallway were dozens, maybe over a hundred, portraits of everyone who had died in the war, those on the good side, anyway. People walked along the hallway with teary eyes, stopping when they got to the portrait of a fallen family member or friend. Ron and Hermione walked along, hand in hand, until they reached the portrait of Fred, along with their family members. When they stopped in front of the portrait, Fred didn't notice for a moment and the family members all looked on in amusment as Fred was watching people in other portraits, being as nosy as one could be. He saw them and smiled widely. "Hey guys, I've really missed you!"

"You have no idea how much we miss you, Fred." Ginny said, laughing and crying at the same time. Harry squeezed her hand, which did not go unnoticed by Fred.

"I knew it!" he shouted with glee, startling the group. "George you owe me-" he stopped and looked around at the group, his face falling. "Where's George?" Confused as he was by this outburst, Ron replied,

"He didn't come up with us, I think he's by the lake. If you think we missed you real bad, he's three times worse. He's a wreck"

"I can't really imagine if the situation was reversed, I don't know what I would do" Mrs. Weasley looked over at him with love and sympathy

"I know, Freddie, I miss you so much"

"I miss you too mum, but if you see George, tell him to come up here. I'm sure he won't miss me quite as much once he realizes he owes me 20 galleons." A classic Weasley twin smirk played across his face, one no one had seen since the battle, even on the twin who was alive.

"What" Harry inturrupted his thoughts "may I ask, was your bet on?" Fred turned his attention to Harry

"Well, it was on you, mate." He stated matter-of-factly. Harry looked suprised, and Fred chuckled. "It was on how long it would take you to get back together with our sister. George said it would take at least til Christmas. Turns out he was wrong. I thought it would be immediate. I was right." Ginny blushed and Harry chuckled at their bets.

"Damn, I didn't think I'd have to pay that." They all turned to the voice behind them, and saw George, a huge grin on his face. "Hey Forge, you're looking a bit flat, are you ok?"

"Hey Gred" The rest of the family took this as a cue to let the twins have some space and they walked away to find portraits of others they had lost. Ron and Hermione didn't have anyone specific they wanted to see, so they walked down the hallway, Hermione leaning on his shoulder, watching people reunite with family members.

"I have to go" Hermione started, nervous about how this conversation would go

"Huh?" Ron asked

"To find my parents. They're still in Australia" Ron was dissapointed, he didn't want his girlfriend to leave

"I want you to come." She said quietly, after a long pause

"I was hoping you would say that" He smiled, kissing her hair. "I would miss you too much if you left." She smiled, but Ron wasn't able to see it.

A few portraits down, Harry and Ginny had found Remus' and Tonks' portraits, and they were letting them talk to Teddy. "Hey Teddy," Tonks said softly. "It's your mama. I love you and miss you so much." Teddy was burrowing into Harry's shoulder but turned his head when he heard the word 'mama'.

"I'm so sorry we're not there with you, bud" Remus interjected. "But I know we left you with the best people possible. your godfather Harry loves you very much." Harry hugged Teddy to reinforce the message. Remus turned to Ginny "I assume you and Harry are together?" Ginny nodded "Then I suppose one day you'll be Teddy's godmother, just based on how you look at each other." Ginny blushed again and said confidently

"I hope so. I do love him a ton" she smiled as she looked over at Harry cradling Teddy, not paying attention to the conversation the two were having. Tonks was equally as oblivious, as she was watching Harry and Teddy's interaction sadly, wishing she was the one holding her son.

Ron and Hermione were walking along and they were drawn to a portrait without anyone from the real world talking to it. Hermione was particularly drawn to it as one of the people in the portrait looked remarkably like Harry. She walked over and saw a redheaded woman sitting next to him. She couldn't believe it. "Lily and James?!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! Sorry, I haven't updated in a couple of weeks, to be honest, I lost motivation to write because I haven't been getting much feedback or many follow and favorites. If you're enjoying the story or have suggestions, things to include, plot points, etc., let me know! Having feedback truly gives me the inspiration to write. **

"Lily and James?!" The two people in question turned their attention to Hermione.

"Hi!" Lily said warmly. "How do you know who we are?" Ron had walked closer at this point and was getting excited. Hermione turned around, not answering Lily, and called out

"Harry! Come here quickly!" Lily and James' eyes got wide and they asked Hermione

"Harry Potter?" Hermione nodded at them, smiling widely. They beamed. At that moment Harry and Ginny hurried up and asked Hermione what the matter was. Hermione tilted her head toward the portrait as if gesturing to it and wore a large smile. Harry looked confusedly at the portrait and then gasped at the people he saw inside.

"Mum? Dad?" He was tearing up as he looked back and forth between them. They nodded both tearing up as well.

"Hey, prongslet, you're so grown up." James had called Harry the name he hadn't been called since his parents had died, and although Harry didn't remember ever being called that, he knew it meant something special, and he felt closer to his dad. Wow. His dad. Harry had never been able to say or think that before without having it be a memory or wish. "Is-is he yours?" Harry was confused for a second but realized Teddy was still asleep against Ginny's shoulder. Harry realized what it looked like with his girlfriend holding a sleeping baby, especially considering Teddy had changed his hair to look identical to Harry's and adopted Ginny's brown eyes. This was his favorite appearance to have, a replica of his two favorite people. Harry chuckled and smiled, hoping that someday in the future he and Ginny would have a baby of their own.

"No, not technically. He's my godson. His parents died in the war, so I've adopted him."

"Aren't you a little young to have a child, even if he's not technically yours?" Lily questioned hesitantly.

"I guess so," Harry admitted, "but he doesn't have parents and his grandmother is too old to properly care for him. I don't want him to grow up as I did."

"Honey," Lily cut in, a sorrowful look in her eyes "I'm so sorry we weren't there for you all these years. I feel awful."

"Mum, it's not your fault, you didn't do anything. My childhood was shit, but there was nothing you could have done."

"Harry James Potter! Do not use that language!" Lily scolded. Hermione bit her lip to keep from laughing at Harry's stunned look.

"Sorry Mum" he muttered, not meeting her gaze.

"Why was your childhood bad, son? Weren't you ok with Sirius?" James inquired.

"I'm sure I would've been, had I been with Sirius."

"What do you mean?" Both parents asked at the same time, horrified.

"I was never with Sirius. In fact, I didn't even meet him until I was in my third year."

"Who were you with then?" Lily asked, fearing the worst.

"Your sister, her son, and her ham of a husband," Harry replied bitterly. Ginny rubbed his hand with her free one, again trying not to smile at the adjective Harry had chosen to describe his uncle.

"You're kidding." James declared rather angrily. Lily gasped and looked sad.

"Judging by how you said that I'm guessing they didn't treat you well." Harry scoffed at the understatement.

"Not just 'not well', they treated me awfully. I can tell you the whole story another time, but the short version is that I was their servant, for all intensive purposes, for ten years. I lived in a broom closet, sometimes forced to stay there for days at a time, denied basic things a child needs, like love, toys, and playtime. They all hated magic, especially Uncle Vernon, and were determined to 'stamp it out of me'."

"That's awful. I'm so sorry honey. Why did Dumbledore and Sirius allow that?" Lily was outraged.

"They were the only people available I guess."

"What about Sirius, he _was_ your godfather." James was equally as furious as Lily was.

"I'm sure he would have been great, had he not been in Azkaban."

"What?!" His parents yelled in unison, attracting the attention of nearby painting residents and visitors.

"Sorry about that" Harry sheepishly addressed the people staring, then turned back to his parents. "Sirius was _wrongfully_ framed for turning you over to Voldemort and the murder of thirteen muggles on the same night. It was actually Pettigrew."

"I can't believe it. How could anyone ever think it was him. We were best friends." James had tears in his eyes.

"He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, from what I know. He died in my fifth year."

"I'm so sorry. I wish you could have gotten to know him better. He was an amazing guy" Lily almost whispered.

"From what I knew of him for the short time we had together, he was, and I wish every day he hadn't died. Of course, I also wish I had known you guys." Harry's voice had become thick with the tears he was willing to not fall. He looked around and for the first time, was aware of the small crowd that had gathered around him and the painting of his parents. By 'crowd' he meant only the Weasley family, but there were enough of them to be described as such. He looked around at them and smiled weakly. Mrs. Weasley came forward and enveloped him in a hug. She then broke away and addressed the portrait.

"Lily. It's wonderful to see you. I've missed you."

"You too, Mol. Have you been looking after Harry?" She asked as she looked at Harry's sibling-like interactions with each of the Weasley boys.

"Since his second year. I had no idea who he was with or how horrible his life was before, or else I would have had him live with me, believe me. But yes, he's been good friends with Ron since his first year, so he's become part of our family." Teddy chose that moment to wake up and start fussing and reaching for Harry. Ginny smiled and handed him to Harry, and Teddy immediately started to quiet down and snuggle into him.

Lily chuckled. "I told you they would end up good friends. Even if it took ten years. Anyway, I can't thank you enough for taking care of him. I'm sure my sister did nothing but screw him up."

"Mum!" Harry cried indignantly. The Weasleys all looked amused.

"I'm not saying it worked!" Lily defended "I'm sure you're a wonderful boy. I'm just saying she had nothing to do with it." James chuckled bitterly at her comments.

At that moment, McGonnagals voice projected over the hallway, announcing that regretfully, visitors had to leave so the castle could be shut down for the night. George then leaned over to Harry, patted his shoulder, and told him he'd give him some space. He then proceeded to lead the remainder of the family over to Fred's portrait to say goodbye. Gratefully, Harry turned back to his parents. "I guess I have to say goodbye for now. I'll definitely be visiting soon, at least when school's back in session."

"Shouldn't you have been a seventh-year last year?" James asked after checking his dates.

"Technically, yes, but I was off searching for Voldemort all of last year, so I didn't really have time for school. I'll be coming back for my seventh year in the fall, along with Hermione. Lily looked horrified and James looked a mix of horrified and impressed. "That's a story for another time, though." His parents looked at each other and begrudgingly agreed that the story would have to wait. "Plus, this guy is getting a little cranky." He nodded to Teddy who was squirming in his arms.

"Who were his parents?" James questioned.

"Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks." Harry somberly replied.

"He had a son? We never thought he'd actually get married" James was amused.

"He's dead?"

"Yeah, he died in the battle about a month ago. He made me Teddy's godfather a few weeks before that." Harry explained.

"I'm guessing you knew him pretty well then." Harry nodded. "I guess that's even more to tell us about later."

"Well, I've really got to go, pretty much everyone's gone." He said, looking around at the mostly empty hall, save the Weasleys. "I love you both, so much, and I'm so glad I got to see you again."

"You too, Harry."

"We love you so much."

He looked at them once more, before turning away to meet the Weasleys. They were all still standing around Fred's portrait, having a discussion. Harry couldn't register what it was about but instead just walked over and stood next to them, sort of in a daze. Hermione saw him first, as he was standing next to her. She put her hand in his and squeezed it. "How'd it go?" She asked quietly.

"As well as it could have gone, I suppose." He responded, matching her volume. He leaned his head on her shoulder. "It was absolutely incredible to see them, but it hurt like hell at the same time."

"I can attest to that. I feel the same way." Harry looked up to see George speaking. Harry nodded and started to walk down the stairs towards the exit, leaving the family behind. Ginny went to follow him, but George pulled her back. "Give him some time." She relented and slowed to match George's pace.

When the Weasley family arrived back at their home, they all walked inside in silence, weary from the very emotional day. After saying goodnight to everyone, Ginny trudged up to her room. She sat down on her bed and stared into space, too tired to even change. It seemed like hours as she vaguely watched the sun go down and darkness fill her room. Finally, she summoned the strength to prepare for bed. As she was changing into her pajamas, she glanced out her window and stopped short, looking more closely at the object she saw on the ground at the edge of the forest surrounding her house. It was a scarf, and she could have sworn it belonged to Harry. Forgetting her previous state of exhaustion, she got up in only her night shorts and sports bra and tiptoed down the stairs, past the closed doors that led into her family member's bedrooms, and out into the night. There was no one downstairs so she figured everyone was sleeping, though she wondered where Hermione was if not in her bed in Ginny's room. 'She must be with Ron' She reasoned. Shaking away the images that came into her head, she hurried to the place where she had seen the scarf and walked down the narrow, woody path to the pond she had spent so many summers playing in with her brothers. At the far edge of the pond, she saw Harry. She knew he would be here. This had been the place they had sat and talked for hours at a time, just content to be with each other, the summer before. She also knew he had come down here quite often on his own to think. It relieved his stress, Ginny thought. At this moment, however, as Ginny looked closer over the darkened water, he wasn't alone. There was someone next to him. A girl sitting with her boyfriend. Someone where she should be. For lack of another possibility, Ginny knew it was Hermione. Though in the back of her mind she knew Hermione would never do what she thought she was doing, because was her best friend and she knew Hermione was together with Ron, the sight of her sitting so close, so intimate, with Harry in a vulnerable time for him, still made her uneasy, kind of angry, and, if she was being honest with herself, jealous. Ginny decided to not interfere but to see where it went. She watched quietly from the other side of the pond, unnoticed by the duo. She watched them sit in silence and contemplated what she was doing. She needed to trust Harry. He wouldn't cheat on her. She needed to be with him, to be there for him during his difficult times, not stalking him to see if he would cheat on her as if she was expecting it. With these thoughts in mind, she walked around the pond towards them.

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping up when Ginny got to them.

"What were you guys doing?" There was a hint of an accusation in her voice.

"We were just sitting here. Harry's pretty shaken up by his parents. I was helping him process. Since you're here, I'll head inside." At that, Hermione squeezed Harry's shoulder and walked around the pond.

"Hey." She said, sitting beside him. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she wrapped her arms around his and stared out over the pond in silence. Finally, she broke the silence. "Talk to me when you're ready. I'm here to listen." He grunted acknowledgment and rubbed her leg to indicate that he heard her, but continued his silence. After a while, they fell asleep in each other's arms.

**Again, please please review! Reviews make me want to write. I already have a section of the next chapter written so it should be up soon. You don't have to just tell me what you think of the story, but give me suggestions, plot points, or character interactions you want to see and I'll try to work them in. Having things to work into my story makes it more fun to write and interesting to read:) **

**Thanks so much for reading and I hope you'll continue to follow this story! **

**M**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey readers! If you're still following this story, thank you! I've really enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoy reading it. Please please please follow, favorite, and especially review. If I know people are reading and liking my stuff, I write more and therefore update more often. Please review with likes, dislikes, character suggestions, plot or scenario suggestions, etc. or just tell me you're reading and you like it. that doesn't take too long but it means a lot to me. Oh and I don't think I've said this before but the characters belong to JK Rowling. Thanks and enjoy! **

It was seven-thirty when Charlie woke in the morning. The sun was streaming through his window, and the smell of bacon drifted up the stairs into his room. He stretched and walked down the stairs to find the source of the smell. On the way down, he passed his sister's room and the door was open, so he peeked inside to see if she was still asleep. When he looked through the door, however, only Hermione was in the room, sound asleep. The odd thing was that Ginny's bed was made. Ginny was not the neatest or tidiest person in the world. She never made her bed until her mom made her, usually in the middle of the day. It looked as though it hadn't been touched the previous night. Growing concerned, he left Hermione and made his way into the kitchen. There he found his mom along with "Hey," he greeted his family members. "Have any of you seen Ginny this morning?"

"No, why?" his mother asked, preoccupied with not burning the bacon.

"She wasn't in her room this morning, that's all." Shrugging, he sat down and took a large sip of the orange juice Mrs. Weasley had set in front of him. "I'm sure she's out on a walk or a fly or something." His brothers seemed satisfied with this and continued eating. At that moment, he heard the unmistakable thumping of Ron coming down the stairs. He was definitely the loudest of them, that much was certain. The boy in question walked sleepily over to the table and heaved himself down, looking around. After a second he perked up and asked,

"Where's Harry?"

Charlie looked up, now getting really suspicious of the whole predicament.

"He's not with you?" Ron shook his head.

"I haven't seen him since last night. I fell asleep pretty quickly, so I figured he just came up late."

Mrs. Weasley came over and questioned, "Did anyone see him here last night? He left after the memorial, and I haven't seen him since. I just assumed he came back here" Her voice was full of worry.

"I saw him last night. He was walking around outside. Seemed to be upset about something. He also didn't have Teddy with him, do you know where he is?" George interjected.

"I dropped Teddy off at Andromeda's last night, she wanted to spend the night with someone after the memorial. But about Harry. We know he's somewhere around here, but where?!" Mrs. Weasley looked slightly relieved but even more confused.

"Isn't it odd that both Harry and Ginny are missing at the same time? They are dating." Charlie pointed out.

After thinking about it for a minute, Ron got an idea. "I think I know where they are." He got up and walked out the door. The rest of the family looked at each other and followed him, curious as to where he was going. Ron walked across the lawn and down into the woods where the path was. When Ron and the others reached the pond, he offered an explanation. "This is where they used to come to spend time with each other away from us." None of the red-headed family saw anything for a minute, but finally, Bill looked up over the pond and saw what looked like a person, but it was hard to tell.

"There!" He exclaimed quietly, pointing to them. They walked around the pond and saw both Harry and Ginny fast asleep. Harry was sitting with his back leaning against the tree, his head resting on Ginny's and his arm around her shoulders loosely. Ginny was leaning against Harry, her hand loosely entwined with his. She apparently got cold during the night as Harry's jacket was covering her chest and shoulder. Neither heard the small party arrive. George cleared his throat and the two sleeping teenagers woke up with a start, sat up, and looked up at the expectant faces standing over them. Ginny looked at Harry then at the expressions on her brother's faces and horrified, hurriedly defended herself and her boyfriend.

"It's not what it looks like! I-I promise."

She received various unbelieving looks from her family members, who were looking back and forth between Harry and Ginny. "I certainly hope so, because I don't like the implications of what I'm seeing here at all." Mrs. Weasley gave the most terrifying look of all.

"I can explain! We were only sleeping! Nothing else happened!" Ginny furiously retorted.

"You really expect us to believe that you were 'just sleeping' when you're wearing practically nothing and you both look rather guilty, almost like you're getting caught?" George almost sounded like he was talking to a child. Harry didn't at all like what George had said, but had the decency to look ashamed and blushed as he looked at Ginny and realized the implications of the situation.

Ginny, in contrast, was outraged. "You are being ridiculous!" She cried indignantly. "First of all, even if we were doing what you obviously think we were doing, it would be absolutely. None. Of. Your. Business!" She squared up to her brothers, and they cowered slightly. Their sister had always had a temper to match her fiery red hair and she would hex them into tomorrow if they provoked her. "Secondly," She continued, not losing her tone or volume "Get your minds out of the gutter! While it's not any of your business and never will be, I have never slept with Harry, and though I'd like to at some point in the distant future, we both have agreed to not do anything until we're older." She calmed her tone and volume, but her voice still sounded venomous. "Next time, I'd thank you to give us the benefit of the doubt and gather information before drawing conclusions."

Everyone remained silent for a few minutes, too stunned and frightened to speak until finally, Ron spoke up. "Gin," She glared at him and he faltered but continued. "I'm sorry for assuming the worst, but you can see where we were coming from, what with you not wearing a shirt," he quickly defended himself

At that, Ginny grew livid. Ron had really pushed her over the edge. "I'm not wearing a shirt because it was almost a hundred fucking degrees outside!" At that, she turned and stormed inside. No one moved for what seemed like forever, too shocked to do anything. After a while, Mrs. Weasley turned to go inside, muttering that she was going to check on Ginny. After she had gone, Ginny's four present older brothers turned to Harry.

"Harry Potter." Bill began after shared glances between his brothers. "We've known we were going to need to talk to you at some point, and now seems like an appropriate occasion." Harry braced himself for what was to come.

"We were going to tell you to protect her and don't take advantage of her," Charlie continued,

"But obviously she doesn't need us to. She's made it pretty clear that she's got that much covered for herself." George picked up, referencing the recent outburst of their youngest sibling.

Harry had to chuckle at that. "I'm surprised you all just figured that out. I've known that for almost as long as I've known her."

"So instead" Bill raised his voice to get Harry's attention again, lowering it once Harry looked back at him. "We'll tell you to respect her, honor her, be there for her, and most importantly, if you ever hurt her, we will hurt you. I don't know how good you are at counting, but there's four of us if you don't count Perce,"

"I certainly don't," George cut in jokingly. None of them had heard him do that since the battle, and it was nice to hear.

Bill threw him a look which changed his expression and turned back to Harry. "There's four of us, plus Ginny, and one of you. So I'd think very carefully before you do anything to her."

"Make that five of you," Harry responded without giving it a thought. "If I ever hurt her I'd be hurting myself so much worse than you would after I realized it. That's something you don't ever have to worry about."

"What about this past year when you left her to search for You Know Who? If that doesn't count as hurting her, I'm not sure what does." This was the first time Ron had spoken up since Ginny had left, and he seemed almost reluctant to become involved.

"You know as well as I do I did that for her protection!" Harry was hurt that he would bring that up. "Voldemort would go after her if he knew I loved her. I had to keep her safe. I would die if something happened to her."

"I thought we already established that she didn't need protection?" Charlie reminded him.

"I know that!" Harry was getting rather frustrated. "I was being a stupid noble git who did what I thought was best for both of us at the time, as much as it killed me. I understand now it was selfish and prideful of me. I'll never do that again, I swear." The boys all seemed satisfied with this response before George spoke up again.

"Ok Harry, we all know you're a good man and you would never hurt her. I just want to know how you feel about her so we can be confident that you won't leave her. She's really serious about you, and I want to know you feel the same way."

"That I can do." Harry seemed confident. "I love your sister. More than anything. More than life itself. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true. The only reason I kept fighting that war and the only reason I went to the Forbidden Forest to meet Voldemort was because of her. I had to keep fighting for her. She means more to me than the world. And as for what you thought you walked in on this morning, as she said, we're waiting. We've done nothing more than light making out, and even that's stretching it."

"Okay, okay, we trust you." Bill suppressed a chuckle. "We know you love her." Harry smiled with relief and looked around at all of them, receiving nods of agreement, some more reluctant than others. Then a very frightening thought occurred to him.

"Where's Teddy?" He was beginning to panic.

"Mum dropped him off with Andromeda last night. Apparently she wanted company. You left before she asked. We didn't think you'd mind."

Harry was flooded with relief as he was mad at himself for letting that very important detail slip his mind in his grief and turmoil over his parents. "Thank Merlin," He said under his breath. The other boys smiled at how much he cared about his godchild.

"Why don't we head inside before mum wonders where we are?" Ron suggested. They all trudged back up to the house, talking about the latest quidditch match. Once they stepped inside, Harry went upstairs to change his shirt, as he was wearing the one he had worn to the memorial, and it was a great deal hotter than the day before. As he walked to Ron's room, he passed his girlfriend's room and heard voices inside. He stopped and stood, leaning against the doorframe watching the scene inside. Ginny was sitting on the bed next to Hermione with Teddy on her lap. They were both completely engrossed in the story Hermione was reading him, and Teddy was sitting snuggled up against Ginny's chest, sucking his thumb. God, he loved them both so much. Ginny looked like she had calmed down from her yelling, but Teddy would do that to anyone. Harry watched them for a bit and then continued walking up the stairs, deciding to shower.

Ron heard the voice of his girlfriend coming from up the stairs. He missed her already and wanted to see her, so he quietly walked up and stood in the same place Harry had moments before. As he saw what was happening in the room, he stayed silent and watched, just like his best friend had. Hermione finished reading the book and looked over at a sleeping Teddy and then up towards the door. Seeing her boyfriend standing there, she beamed and jumped up to hug him, his smile mirroring hers. Ginny smiled at the two as Hermione pecked Ron on the lips and they left the room together. She then glanced down at the sleeping baby on her chest and laid back against her pillows, joining him in sleep.

As Harry finished showering, he put on a fresh muggle T-shirt with a band he used to listen to on the radio and cargo shorts and headed back down, eager to see his girlfriend and godson. When he entered the room, he crept up to the bed where his two favorite people lay peacefully dreaming. Ginny's bed wasn't big, but it was wide enough for Harry to lay down next to her, his head on her shoulder. When Ginny awoke to feel her boyfriend's head on her shoulder, she turned her head and lightly nudged his leg with her own, causing him to look up at her, a smile breaking on his face. "Hey" she greeted him quietly as to not wake the three month old. Teddy was finally starting to settle into a sleep schedule, and if someone interrupted his nap time, he would be cranky for the rest of the day.

"Hey," He replied, matching her volume. "About earlier," she rolled her eyes, knowing what was coming, but he didn't seem to notice, and if he did, he didn't address it. "I want a good relationship with your brothers, and what you did didn't really help. I understood your frustration and where you were coming from, but if you're always yelling at them about stuff to do with me, it kind of makes them resent me."

"First of all, I know they like you, they're just in protective mode." She rolled her eyes for a second time, this time more exaggerated so Harry noticed. "Also, what I do or do not yell about to my brothers shouldn't concern you, and it doesn't have anything to do with you. It's not really your business." Ginny told him with a stern look. "Oh, by the way, why were you outside for so long after I came in?"

"Your brothers and I were having a talk, that's all," Harry replied, very interested in a loose string on her comforter.

She perked up, a mix of exasperation and curiosity on her face. "What did they say?"

Harry gave her a sly smirk and mocked her, "It's not really your business."

Ginny's eyes got wide and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. "Harry Potter!" She hit him with a throw pillow and Harry threw it back at her, forgetting the sleeping baby between them. He missed his target, however, and hit Teddy.

"Shit," Harry muttered as Teddy started to cry. "Hey Ted, buddy, it's alright," he soothed as he stood up and bounced him on his hip while Ginny gave him a look. He grinned sheepishly back at her while trying to comfort the baby who wouldn't stop crying.

"How about we go downstairs and get a snack? I never ate breakfast and I'm starving." Seeing the look on her boyfriend's face, she remembered that he actually knew what it felt like to be starving, and quickly corrected herself. "Oh, I'm sorry, that was insensitive." She reached over and squeezed his hand.

"It's alright" he grinned. "I'm really hungry too, let's go." Her face flooded relief as Harry handed Teddy over to her. She put him on her hip and they walked downstairs together. Just as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Mrs. Weasley called Ginny into the kitchen, and Harry walked into the living room to sit down next to Hermione on the couch. "Hey," he started conversationally and she looked up from her book called The magic of arithmancy.

"Oh, hey Harry! What's up?" She greeted him enthusiastically.

"Not much, what are you reading?"

"Oh, this? I'm just getting started on my school reading." Harry smiled at her typical Hermione behavior.

"I could have guessed. So anyway, how are things going with Ron?"

She put down her book and turned on the couch so she was facing him, folding one leg under her, the other hanging off the couch. "They're actually really good right now. We haven't fought in a while, which is unusual for us, as I'm sure you know." Harry nodded slowly and she grinned slightly. "Anyway, they're going really well. We're trying to spend as much time together as possible because once I go back to school and he starts Auror training, we won't be able to see each other hardly ever, and that's going to be pretty hard." Harry nodded again, imagining how hard it would be if the situation was reversed and it was him and Ginny.

"You guys will be fine. I'm not sure what the arrangements and all will be when we go back to Hogwarts with us technically being eighth years, so he might be able to come to visit while we're at the castle. Even if he can't, there are Hogsmede weekends."

"I guess you're right, I'm just really going to miss him." Harry rubbed her leg comfortingly.

Ginny chose that moment to walk into the living room to call them in for a snack when she saw Harry's hand on Hermione's leg. Shocked, she turned around and left, tears welling up in her eyes. She shook them away, willing herself to believe something better about the situation, that it wasn't what she thought it was.

"Anyway," Hermione changed the subject, "How are you and Ginny? You seem to be doing well, based on how I've seen you two interact."

"Yeah, we are. I'm looking forward to having another year at school with her. Honestly, Hermione, I want to marry her." At her expression, Harry quickly continued, "Not right now, I'm just talking at some point, after we're out of school and have steady jobs and everything. I want to raise Teddy with her, have a life with her, and at some point have our own kids." Hermione nodded with a tearful smile.

Ginny was coming in again having got over what she had seen with Harry and Hermione, but stopped outside the door when she heard Harry say something to Hermione. She waited outside to see if he would say more but they got up and walked to the door.

"Hey Gin," Harry greeted her when he saw her outside the door.

"Hey Harry," she replied, not really meeting his gaze. "Mum asked me to come get you guys, there's a snack waiting in the kitchen."

"Great! I'm really hungry." Harry started off to the kitchen. Hermione gave Ginny a questioning glance, asking wordlessly why she was acting so distant from him. Ginny shook her head and gave a weak smile, trying to prove she was fine. Hermione didn't buy it, but Ginny had followed Harry, eager to avoid any awkward conversations. Hermione walked slowly behind them, wondering what could be bothering her friend.

**Please Please Review! I'll try to get another chapter done by the end of this week:)****M**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! Thanks so much for everyone who's followed my story. Again, I need suggestions on what to write next! If you have anything that you want to see happen, let me know and I'll probably include them! Thanks again for reading! Again, this was a really quick time between chapters, don't expect it all that often:) **

A week had passed since the memorial and that morning, Hermione awoke late. It was around nine when she walked sleepily down the stairs and took her seat next to her boyfriend. He put his arm around her and she leaned against him, almost falling asleep again. Harry looked on with an amused expression, feeding Teddy mashed carrots. "Sleep well?" He asked innocently. The night before, Harry had woken up to the sound of Ron coming in and going to sleep. It had been past one in the morning. The following day he had checked with Ginny and Hermione had come in pretty late as well, so they had made similar assumptions as to their friend's activities and whereabouts.

"Not especially, but I'll be fine." She replied with a yawn. "What did I miss this morning?"

"Not much, just Ron eating enough for a small village, not that that's unusual," Ginny replied, smirking at Ron who looked defensive.

"Hey!" He defended. "I don't eat that much!"

Hermione giggled. "I love you Ronald, but you do eat quite a lot." This got everyone to laugh, including George, as Ron got as red as his hair. Hermione leaned up and kissed him.

At that moment, three owls flew through the open window and dropped a letter off to Hermione, Harry, and Ginny. All three had the Hogwarts seal, but all three were slightly different and had different weights. Harry's was bigger and thicker, but Ginny's was heavier, while Hermione's was heavier and slightly bigger. Hermione immediately opened hers. Inside was a supply list for 7th years along with an additional letter. She opened it and as she read, the others saw her excitement grow until as she finished reading she emptied the envelope and pulled out a shiny badge reading _Head Girl _and bearing the Hogwart's crest.

"Congrats, Mione!" Ginny jumped up to hug her.

"Thanks, Ginny! open yours!" Ginny didn't need to be told twice. She hurried to the other side of the table and sat back down, ripping the letter open. As she did, a badge that looked similar to Hermione's fell over, and as she flipped it over, she saw it was a red badge with a gold lion in the center, surrounded by the words _Quidditch Captain_ in bold gold lettering.

"Gin, that's amazing!" Harry was truly happy for her.

Ginny was too stunned to reply for a few seconds, she was just turning the badge over in her hands, admiring it. "I thought for sure you would have gotten it," She said quietly to him.

"Don't be silly, Gin. You're just as good if not better than I am, and besides, I'm going to be a teacher. I won't have time for juvenile things like quidditch." He teased. Ginny punched him playfully.

"Hey," She said, opening the letters accompanying the badge. One was the list of supplies, as she tossed it aside, and the other was details about being quidditch captain. "I get to use the prefect's bathroom," she tossed out as she read, "that's about it." She put down her letter and turned expectantly to Harry. "Well? Open yours." She scooted her chair closer to him so she could read the letter with him. He shifted Teddy so he could reach the letter. As he did so, he chuckled at her childlike curiosity and opened the letter carefully.

_Dear Mr. Potter, _

_As I'm sure you remember we spoke in my office after the battle, and you agreed to become a part-time professor while taking your NEWT classes. I regret to inform you that the other part-time professor is now unable to teach, and now I am left without a teacher for the fifth, sixth, and seventh years. I would like to offer you the full-time position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I know this may seem odd to you as the seventh year students are only a year younger than you and the others not far behind, but I believe you to be more than capable, and as I understand it, familiar with this, as you lead Dumbledore's Army in your fifth year to many of the same students. Because you never learned the full course material for seventh years, I would ask you to come a couple of weeks earlier, and I would break it down for you, though I'm sure you know most of it already. You would, of course, receive a full-time salary, an office, and living quarters if you choose to accept. As for completing your education, I have spoken to the Minister and he believes you are already prepared to enter Auror training upon leaving our school, without taking any of your NEWTs, if that is still the profession you are seeking to enter. I understand you don't want to be given special treatment, so if you would like, the other teachers have offered to give you personalized independent studies you can work on in your free periods, and I'm sure Ms. Granger and Ms. Weasley would be more than willing to help you out as well when you need it. I will await your owl with your decision no later than August 1st. _

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

The family members watched both of their expressions as they read, Ginny becoming excited and Harry looking rather nervous.

Ginny looked up at Harry when they both finished reading. "Harry that's absolutely fantastic! I'm so so happy for you!" Harry just looked incredibly nervous. "Oh, stop, you're going to be an amazing teacher. Don't tell me you're going to say no!"

"No, I'll probably say yes, that does sound like a rather amazing offer."

"Oh, what is it?" Mrs. Weasley was looking back and forth between them and finally got too impatient.

Harry looked up and around at them and said simply "I've just been offered a full time teaching position at Hogwarts."

Everything following happened so fast. Mrs. Weasley rushed over and gave one of her infamous bone-crushing hugs, almost crushing Teddy, as Hermione congratulated him, and the boys all clapped him on the back. Ginny just watched and laughed at his face while all this happened. It rivaled the typical Weasley red. Hermione also realized this and decided to divert the attention from him. She cleared her throat and talked loudly. "Hey. While we're all getting good news, I have an announcement to make." She had gotten everyone's attention and Harry gave her a grateful smile, so she lowered her voice and continued, "As you know, at the beginning of the war, I obliviated my parents so they would go to Australia as to escape the war. Now that everything is over, I want to go to Australia and try to find them. I'd really like them to know I exist." She looked visibly upset so Ginny gave her a reassuring smile. "I wanted to wait until things settled back down and now that they have, I'd like to go, And," Again she paused and looked at her boyfriend desperately. Ron got the message and continued,

"I'll be going with her. I don't want her going alone, and it'd be nice to have some company, plus I don't want to be by myself here with only Ginny and Harry." Mrs. Weasley looked hesitant but she seemed to understand and sympathize with Hermione, so she didn't say anything. "When would you leave?" Charlie piped up.

"If it's alright with you all, I'll be leaving in the morning, I just want to get there and back as quickly as possible and get it over with." Hermione reasoned.

Mrs. Weasley finally spoke up. "That's really soon, Hermione, but I see why you would want to do it sooner than later, so... I'll allow Ron to go with you. As long as you stay safe with enough to eat, and you don't sleep together."

"Mum!" Ron protested turning red again. Mrs. Weasley ignored him as Charlie spoke up.

"I've got to get going too, I've got to get back to my dragons. I'll come back and visit you soon if I can." He went around and gave Mrs. Weasley a hug, clapped his brother's and Harry's shoulders, and gave Ginny a hug with a kiss on the top of her head. He waved one last time and walked out of the house to disapparate.

"You know, I should probably go as well." George piped up.

"Where?" Ron asked him.

"To the shop. Fred and I promised that if something happened to either one of us that we would keep the shop up and running, so I'll need to go ask Verity if she can come back and help me get it back up again. I guess I'll just stay in our flat." Ginny looked over at him and placed her hand on top of his which was tightly clenched on the table.

"Hey," George looked up with her. "You're going to be ok. You know that, right?"

"Sometimes it really doesn't seem like it."

He stood up to go and she too got up and tightly wrapped her arms around him. He stood stiffly for a moment but then melted into the embrace. "Hey," She said again as he started to sob into her shoulder, "Let's go upstairs, and we'll talk." He nodded and got up, holding her hand they walked up the stairs together, George almost leaning on her for support. She sat down heavily on her bed, relieved to not be carrying his weight anymore. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but you're going to be ok." He sniffled. "Have you thought at all about him and how he would feel?" George shrugged and Ginny continued. "I mean, you two were always laughing, always pranking, always making fun of our brothers. I miss that. I know you don't feel like you can do that anymore, and it's a hundred percent not the same, but he would not want you to do what you're doing. That I know for a fact. Fred wouldn't want you to live the rest of your life in grief, would he? He would want you to do double the pranks, make people laugh twice as much, and create twice as much trouble to make up for him." Ginny was starting to cry at this point. "You and I both know that's true, and if you need to, you could always go ask him."

"I know you're right, Ginny, you always are. It feels like half of me is gone. We always used to finish each other's thoughts and sentences, but now I have to finish my own." His voice was slow and shaky, this was not at all the George his sister knew. It broke her heart.

"I know, I miss him too. Every day. Not as much as you do, but he was the one I confided in. The one I trusted the most, out of all of you."

"Thanks, Ginny, that means a lot." Ginny gave a watery laugh.

"You know I didn't mean it like that, I only meant that this is difficult for me too, and I think sometimes you don't realize that. Now, I'm not trying to make you sorry for me, and I'm not at all trying to diminish your grief. What I'm saying is that I get it, and you and I can grieve together." He squeezed her hand.

"I know you miss him, and I know I'm not the only one hurting. I also know I need to move on, and not live my life like this, so I'm going back to the joke shop. It'll take me a while, and it'll be unimaginably difficult, but it's something I have to do." George hadn't opened up like this with someone in a long time, and it felt so, so good.

Ginny wiped her eyes as an idea dawned on her. "What if I came with you, to help you emotionally and physically. I'm not due to start school for another couple of months, so I'll have some free time. We can go over to the shop, get everything sorted out, and I can help you come up with ideas and sell. When I go back to school, I can be sort of a middleman for you and Fred if he has any ideas for products or sales or something like that, and I could get permission to work on weekends. I'm sure McGonagall wouldn't mind. I know I'm not an expert prankster or idea generator, but I can certainly attract customers. I remember you both told me before that people would come to the store just to see me and if I was working behind the counter, people would buy stuff just to see me. It would be amazing business for you. Plus, as a bonus, I might be able to bring my famous boyfriend along sometimes, and I'm sure that wouldn't hurt." This got a laugh from George.

"I would feel uncomfortable with that if I didn't know how much you loved Harry so we don't have to worry about you leaving with guys, but that might actually be a brilliant idea." He seemed lost in thought but was brought out of his trance when Hermione called up the stairs for everyone to come down. They got up together and as they walked, George turned to Ginny and thanked her. "Thanks for that, it truly helped a lot, and thanks for offering to flirt with other guys while you have a boyfriend all for my shop." Ginny swatted him playfully and protested,

"You know that's not what I'm doing, it's just an added bonus that you have such an attractive sister." She flipped her hair jokingly as George rolled his eyes.

"That you do," Ginny looked down the stairs to see Harry looking up at them and grinned. "What did I hear about you cheating on me?" He asked innocently.

"Oh, nothing, she's just offered to flirt with guys to increase my revenue." George grinned sideways at her.

"Something every good sister should offer to do at least once." Harry picked up mock seriously. The red-headed siblings chuckled. "Well, anyway, I've come to get you, someone's here to talk to us."

Curiosity driving them, they all walked into the living room to see their brother, the one they would have never expected to see before the battle, standing in the middle of the room stiffly. "Hey Perce," George greeted him, stepping off the last stair. "What are you doing back here again?" Ginny noticed a girl standing in the corner, very awkwardly.

"Does it have something to do with her?" Ginny piped up, gesturing to the girl in the corner.

"As a matter of fact, it does. This is my fiance, Audrey."

"What?!" Mrs. Weasley half yelled.

"My fiance," he repeated slowly.

"I didn't even know you had a girlfriend, Perce," Ron interjected.

"Well I did, for about two years, and now I have a fiance," Percy replied smartly, making his siblings irritated.

"How did you meet her?" Ginny pried

"The ministry. She works for the department of International Magical Cooperation." She became my fiance in April." No one said anything else on the matter but jumped right into getting to know Audrey and Mrs. Weasley looked overjoyed at the thought of planning another wedding for another one of her sons.

"I'm very happy for you. You don't jump into things quickly, so I know you know what you're doing with her. Will you guys be staying here?"

"No, mum, we plan on going back to our flats. I just wanted to come and let you know. It has been a tiring day at the ministry and I'd like to get some rest. Share the news with father, will you?" He smiled to all of them, pat Ginny's arm briskly, and turned to leave, Audrey saying goodbye to the family as they went.

"Well, that was unexpected." Ginny voiced everyone's thoughts as she got nods from her family members, all deep in thought.

"I'd better actually get going this time, I've got some stuff to work out. I'll stay in touch, Ginny." George followed Percy's path and disapparated to the shop. Mrs. Weasley then hurried back to the kitchen to prepare lunch, leaving the four youngest standing in the living room together.

"You two should probably get packing if you're leaving so early tomorrow." Harry reminded them, bouncing Teddy in his arms, making him giggle.

"You're so right, Harry. I wasn't even thinking. Let's go, Ronald." Hermione drug him away, and he looked at Harry as though silently crying for help as the ascended the staircase. Harry waggled his eyebrows and paid for it by a meaner look from Ron. After they were gone, Harry and Ginny were left alone in the living room, and she came over to him.

"Do you want to go to Diagon Alley?" She suggested

"Sure, for what?"

"Well we need our school stuff, you need teacher stuff, whatever they use, and it would be kind of like a real date. I don't reckon we've many of those."

"No, I suppose not. That sounds like fun, let's go after lunch."

"Can't we grab lunch while we're there?"

"I suppose so, why don't you go tell your mum and I'll grab the parchment so we can reply to McGonagall. Harry ran upstairs.

"Mum," Ginny greeted her mother who was pulling something out of the oven, "Harry and I are going to Diagon Alley to get some school stuff and hang around if that's ok."

"Well, I made lunch for you, but I suppose that's ok. You can have it when you get home or for dinner or something. Have fun!"

"Thanks, mum, we'll be back by dinner. Ron and Hermione are upstairs packing, and we're bringing Teddy with us." Mrs. Weasley nodded, already wrapped up again in her lunch preparations. Harry and Ginny set off to Diagon Alley, traveling by Floo because Teddy was too young to apparate. They arrived in the Leaky Cauldron and upon entering, were met with around twenty staring people. As the war became further and further away, the press had died down a bit, and people had stopped clapping whenever he entered a place populated with wizards, upon the request of the Ministry of Magic. That didn't stop people from staring and whispering about him, however, which still made Harry a great deal uncomfortable. Ginny came out of the Floo behind him, and they walked up to the counter, Harry awkwardly adjusting Teddy in his arms.

"Hey, Tom. We'll take two turkey sandwiches, please." He said after a shared glance with Ginny who seemed eager to get out of there as well.

"Certainly, Mr. Potter." The barman responded and hurried to make them.

"Harry would be fine, please, Tom."

"Okay, Harry," Tom returned after making the sandwiches. "That'll be two galleons, please." Harry handed over the money, thanked the barman, and left the shop, the stares following him.

"I just remembered why I haven't left the house since May." Harry had gone white.

"I'm sorry, babe. I can't imagine." They sat down on the curb a few meters down from the bar and started to eat. "So what do we need to get?" Ginny got right down to business. "I say we get done all we need to get done and then hang around and get ice cream and talk or something.

"Sounds good," Harry said through a bite of his sandwich. "As for what we need to get, I think we need your school books. Since they're all the same, I'll just share yours if that's ok, since we're going to be doing lessons at different times." He continued talking at Ginny's nod. "I need a few books for teaching, especially now I have the 5th through 7th years. Damn, that still doesn't feel real. Anyway, since I'll have my own office and sleeping quarters, I'll need furniture and I'll need some stuff for Teddy. McGonagall had already told me I could bring Teddy with me, and send him to a wizard's daycare during the day. Remus had some stuff for him, but he's growing really quickly, so we'll need more." Harry thought aloud. "Other than that, I think I want an owl. I'll need one for school, especially as a professor."

"That's not a small list. I think we should write our letters to McGonagall so we don't forget and then start at Gringotts. We'll both need some money for this." Harry gulped at the thought of Gringotts, as the last time he was in the Wizarding bank, he had practically destroyed it. Bill had told him that it had been restored and they weren't extremely upset with him, but it still made him feel guilty and nervous.

Having finished their lunch, they both quickly scrawled notes to the headmaster and then grabbed hands as they walked back through the Leaky Cauldron, again drawing stares, and out into the back patio where the entrance to Diagon Alley was located. Ginny tapped the right bricks with her wand and they stepped back as the wall formed an archway.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey readers! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever. I was working and had literally no time to write. My jobs done now so I should be updating more frequently. I already have a section of the next chapter written. Please review or message me with suggestions and/or feedback.

Thanks and enjoy the chapter!

"Let's start at Gringotts," Ginny suggested as they walked leisurely down Diagon Alley.

"That sounds good, I want to check my accounts anyway. Now that I'm of age, I should have inherited the Potter fortune, so I can move that over before someone else gets a hold of it." Harry had to be careful not to walk too close to Ginny because they were still receiving many poorly disguised stares and glances as they walked through the moderately crowded street, and neither of them was quite ready to make their relationship public yet. Especially holding Teddy, it looked very suspicious. Ginny nodded and they headed towards the towering wizarding bank at the end of the street. As they reached the end of the street, they walked up the wide staircase into the grand entrance of the bank, their footsteps echoing against the cold marble. The couple approached a teller, an exceptionally short brown haired goblin. The goblin was furiously writing on a piece of parchment, as though his ideas would escape him if he didn't get them down onto paper. After watching him for a couple seconds, Harry cleared his throat, causing the goblin to look up at them, startled to the point of almost dropping his quill.

"How can I help you, Mr. Potter?" He asked, recovering quickly from his shock.

"Hi, I'd like to view and manage my current finances, please." Harry told the goblin slightly nervously. He had not forgotten the last time he had been in the bank and was apprehensive that the goblins were holding a grudge of some sort against him. "I recently became of age, so I should have a number of vaults inherited to me, specifically under the names of Potter and Black."

The goblin nodded and waved his wand over a blank piece of parchment. Harry and Ginny watched as Harry's name and all his assets appeared on the parchment. "Mr. Potter," the goblin began after he had read through the list. "It appears that you now have possession of the entire Black, Potter, and Lupin vaults. Along with the financial aspect of those, you also now own several properties that were previously owned by the old possessors of the vaults. Would you like those records and deeds? I can make you a copy and the original will stay at the bank for safe keeping."

"Sure, that would be great." Harry replied quickly, anxious to see what exactly was left to him. The goblin duplicated the parchment with a simple charm and then removed the text from the original and handed the copy to Harry. Harry folded it and put it in the pocket of his jeans, meaning to look over it later when He and Ginny could be alone. "Is it possible for me to visit all three vaults so I know what I'm dealing with?" The goblin again nodded and turned to walk away. A short while later, he came back with a number of keys, handing three to Harry and keeping one for himself.

"Follow me, this way." He motioned to the couple. They quickly started walking and soon arrived at the lift that would take them to the vaults. After a long, winding ride that made Ginny queasy and Teddy cry, they lurched to a halt in front of the first vault labeled 118. The small party stepped out of the car and onto the small area of floor in front of the vault. The goblin indicated which key to use for the vault, and Harry handed Teddy to Ginny then turned the lock and swung open the heavy door. What Harry had seen inside his first vault when he was eleven was nothing compared to what was inside this one. Hundreds of towers of Galleons almost taller than he was lined the walls and spilled into the center of the room. Stacks of silver sickles almost as high were scattered throughout the spacious vault. Piles of little bronze knuts were intermingled in the larger stacks. Harry and Ginny looked on with eyes wide as dinner plates.

"Shit that's a lot of money" Ginny whispered quietly to her boyfriend who nodded slowly, stepping into the vault. There wasn't much in the vault other than the money, but Harry did notice a box about the size of a shoebox and what appeared to be a photo album, and he grabbed them both as he left the dark room and heaved the creaking door closed behind them. They got back in the cart, Ginny almost reluctantly, and headed on to the next vault. The next stop was number 246, and it was a great deal smaller than the previous one. Inside this vault was a modest but comfortable amount of money and a fair number of other things that didn't seem as valuable but more sentimental. Harry figured this vault belonged to his godson's father. He grabbed as many of the things as he could to look through later, shrunk them along with the things he had collected from his parents vault. Shoving the magicked items deep into his pockets, the trio again headed deeper into the ground to the third and final vault. Just as Ginny thought they couldn't get any lower they reached the vault of the Black family. This vault was under much higher security measures and was much grander even than the one belonging to the Potters. The inside of this vault was unmistakingly Slytherin. Everything was green and silver including the many pieces of jewelry and other fine items. While looking at the family heirlooms, Harry was almost distracted from the even larger amount of money. There had to have been at least a million galleons or more. Ginny's reaction was even more surprised than the previous one, though Harry didn't think that was possible. He himself was dumbstruck. After putting a good amount of money in a pouch, they exited the Vault and headed back up out of the underground bank.

"How do I combine all of my vaults into one?" Harry asked when they were again standing in front of the teller.

"We can get that arranged for you, Mr. Potter. After combining the vaults, you will be among our highest accounts here, so the vault will be under very high security. I'll need you to tell me now which individuals you would like to have access to your vault. Please list their full name."

"Ok, I would like Harry James Potter and Ginerva Molly Weasley to have access to this vault." Harry told him confidently. Ginny looked over at Harry surprised but joyful that he considered her so close to him.

"Very well," the goblin drawled, scribbling away on his parchment. "If you would like to add more people later, that is possible. Now, to enter the vault, you will need a face and wand verification as well as your key and the hand of yourself and a teller to unlock it. It will also be in a secretive location so it won't be targeted for theft. Does that sound alright?"

"That sounds perfect. Thank you so much."

"Oh, I almost forgot. We took a sum of money from your vault for the destruction of the bank the last time you were here, but we've all decided to let it go besides that because of everything you've done."

"That's ok. I'm sorry for the bank, though it was the only way to destroy Voldemort." Harry had the decency to look ashamed, but then turned with Ginny and left the bank, attracting more stares as they walked toward the exit. As they stepped back into the heat of the day, Ginny turned to her boyfriend.

"Holy shit Harry! You're bloody rich! One of the richest wizards alive! What are you going to do with all your money?"

"Probably buy a few islands." He seemed so serious about it, Ginny couldn't help but laugh a little. "No, but in all seriousness, I plan to create a life with you," Harry stated as if it were nothing. If Ginny was a weepy person she may have started crying at that response, but instead she discreetly squeezed his hand and whispered

"I love you." Harry just smiled and continued down the street with her, neither caring who saw them now.

"Hermione, dear, come down! You got an owl!" Mrs. Weasley called up the stairs. Moments later the girl in question came softly down the stairs and received the letter from the older woman.

After Hermione had read the letter, she looked up and told her wizarding mother, "The Minister thinks he's found my parents!" Hermione could feel tears coming to her eyes.

"Oh, dear, that's so exciting! I'm so happy for you!" Mrs. Weasley hurried closer to Hermione and enveloped her in one of her trademark hugs.

"The Minister recommended that I leave tonight so I can find them sooner if they move." Hermione was slightly worried Mrs. Weasley wouldn't want her son to come along if she had to leave tonight, but she figured she could talk her into it.

"Ok, I'd rather you not leave tonight, but I suppose it's best to leave as soon as you can. I know how anxious you are to see them."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Weasley!" Hermione rushed up the stairs to tell Ron. When she reached his bedroom, where she was helping him pack as he was hopeless by himself, she jumped on the bed and told him the news immediately. "Ron, Kingsley knows where my parents are!" She came in so loud and suddenly that Ron almost dropped the clothes he was dismally attempting to fold.

"Blimey, Hermione. Well, that's great! We won't have to stay long then, I guess." His face fell slightly at the realization that he had just lost so much time alone with his girlfriend.

"Well, we don't have to come back right after we find them unless you want to." She added that last part hurriedly.

"Of course I want to stay! I was disappointed that we wouldn't be able to. What will we do after we find them though?"

"I think it'll take a day or two to find them and change their memories back, as my research has told me, but after that, I'm sure we could stay with them and explore Australia. Or we could stay in a hotel or something so we could have some time to ourselves, and explore that way."

"I like the second plan better," Ron smirked. "Can we stay for a week or two?"

"That sounds great. Maybe we can even wait a couple of days before unobliviating my parents and just get to know them first, so we can have more time." Hermione went back to folding Ron's shirts, much more effectively than he was.

"What do you want to start with?" Ginny asked, looking down at their long list. "How about Teddy's stuff?" She said with a chuckle at Teddy's squirms.

"That sounds good. I think there's a baby store down here somewhere." They walked a few hundred feet more and then stepped into Smallest Wizards the baby and kids store. They strolled through the aisles looking at all the things Teddy would need when he got older, from small shoes to games to books. The store was categorized by age, so the couple headed toward the back of the store where the three months to the six-month section was. They decided to start with clothes. Ginny went a little crazy, but they ended up getting five onesies for five to eight-month-olds, and five onesies for nine to twelve-month-olds, as Harry wouldn't have a lot of time to go shopping while he was teaching. On the onesies were everything from cute little dragons to snitches to teddy bears, to cute little sayings like Future Quidditch Star and Grandma loves me There were some in Gryffindor colors and some in Hufflepuff colors, some with pockets, some with buttons. They got Teddy three little pairs of shoes: green and black trainers, booties, and slip-on shoes. Along with that, they got him tiny pairs of socks that made his feet look like animals.

"Oh Harry, come here!" Ginny called him. "Look at these! We have to get them. They're too cute." They were mini quidditch robes for the Gryffindor team. Harry agreed that they were quite adorable.

"He definitely doesn't need those, but we need to get them." He chuckled as she put them in the cart. After the exciting discovery of the quidditch robes, Harry found three sleeper pajamas. One with koala bears, one with stars and a moon, and one with a sleeping hippogriff. Ginny found a few t-shirts, a couple of hoodies for the fall, and some shorts. Their cart was becoming quite full, but they still had a number of things to get. They grabbed a ton of nappies and wipes, as well as a bag they could send with him to daycare that would hold everything he needed throughout the day. They found him several teething toys for when he was a bit older as well as some toys he could play with around the house. They found a baby carrier and a stroller all in one, and Ginny found something they could strap around themselves to hold him. The last thing they picked up was a mat that dangled colorful things above his head that he could reach for, which they were told by an associate that he would really enjoy. Figuring they had enough, they paid and exited the store, having all the items shipped to the Burrow so they wouldn't have to carry it all around.

"Next stop, school supplies," Ginny announced as they entered back into the sun.

Hermione and Ron appeared with a crack in a small alley. They both wrinkled their noses at the smell of fresh garbage coming from their right, and Ron realized they had apparated right next to a dumpster. "Nice job, Hermione," Ron said sarcastically, "You had to put us right next to the garbage."

"Oh, grow up Ronald. Our hotel is right here." She gestured to the large building casting shadows into the alley. "It's supposed to be really nice, though it is a muggle hotel, so we have to be careful not to use magic." The couple walked around the building and stopped to look up at it when they reached the grand double doors. The hotel had to have at least 10 floors and was relatively wide. It was covered in windows and had large double doors leading into a glamorous lobby. The witch and wizard approached the front desk and received their room key from the hotel worker.

"What is that?" Ron inquired, grabbing the key from Hermione.

"It's our room key," She replied, almost irritated. Ron really had no clue about anything in the muggle world, that was for sure.

"That doesn't look like a key. How does it work?"

Hermione inwardly rolled her eyes. "You scan the key on the door and it unlocks. It's actually pretty cool. Let's head up to our room and I'll show you." They took the lift to the third floor where their room was and started down the long hallway. When they got to their room number, Hermione showed Ron how to open the door, which he claimed he would have been able to figure out himself. Hermione pushed open the door to reveal two queen beds blanketed in plush comforters and white feather pillows. There were a small kitchen and a bathroom with a tub. On the counter were fluffy towels shaped into animals with small chocolates for eyes. The room boasted a balcony with a view of the city of Sydney. The thing that amazed Ron the most, however, was the television. It was set up so you could see it from the beds. Ordinarily, wizards couldn't have TVs because their magic would mess up the cable, so Ron had never seen one before, other than in Harry's house.

"Which bed do you want?" Hermione asked, still holding all her belongings.

"I'll take the one by the bathroom," Ron told her without looking up from the television set. Hermione threw her stuff on her bed, grabbed the remote off the night-stand between the beds, hopped onto Ron's bed, and laid back against the soft pillows. Hermione patted the space next to her and Ron came over and crawled into bed next to his girlfriend. Hermione flipped to a channel showing a nature documentary about arctic polar bears and they curled up in each other's arms, quickly falling asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thanks for reading this far! I'm so excited to continue writing this story. I've been trying to balance sort of evenly between Romione and Hinny. Let me know who you'd like more of, or maybe other characters to bring further into the story. I'd also like to say that I don't own any characters or initial plot points, if I haven't said it already. Also, this story won't be following the epilogue, but the details in the books will stay the same. Again, thanks for reading, and reviews give me life! Give me feedback and suggestions on characters and plots, and I'll 100% start updating more frequently. I just have more motivation if I know people are reading and enjoying what I'm writing.

**EHC **

Ginny felt a strong sense of accomplishment as she and her black-haired boyfriend stepped out of Madam Malkin's. From baby toys to school books to bed frames to dress robes, they had gotten everything on their list.

"Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving," Ginny suggested.

"Sounds good. How about the Leaky Cauldron? I know we ate there for lunch, but we could get something else." Harry wasn't sure what else they could eat. Diagon Alley wasn't really known for its food options. Ginny shook her head and pointed to a shop they were passing.

"This looks better. Ice cream for dinner! What do you think, Teddy? Do you want ice cream for dinner?" Teddy had no idea what the girl was asking him, but he giggled and turned his hair red to match hers. "I'll take that as a yes! Let's go, Harry." Harry complied, apologizing in his head to Remus for only feeding his child sugar for dinner. The couple quietly stepped into the ice cream parlour, a bell tinkling above them as they opened the door. When they approached the counter, the shop owner unsurprisingly recognized Harry and greeted him.

"Hey, Florean!" Harry returned the greeting to the older man standing behind the counter. Ginny was surprised by his reaction but decided not to mention it presently. Usually her boyfriend didn't welcome the attention he got, but this didn't seem to be the case with Florean. "I'll take a chocolate milkshake," Harry decided, looking at the menu hanging colorfully above the counter. "Let me get some whipped cream on that, too." He said with another thought.

"I'll take a cone of chocolate cherry." Ginny told the man. This had been her favorite flavor ever since she was a little girl and she had come here with her father while her older brothers were at Hogwarts. They would always go after they dropped them off at Kings Cross Station for the year. They were given their ice cream and they decided to sit at a table outside. Florean had told Harry he didn't need to pay but Harry had refused to take the offer. They had negotiated for a minute or two before Harry had agreed to pay half price. They settled down on a metal table directly outside the shop, protected from the hot sun by a large red and white umbrella. Ginny plopped Teddy down on her lap and licked her ice cream cone, grinning after tasting it.

Harry took a sip of his own milkshake and then handed it to Ginny, who tasted it herself, waggling her eyebrows at her boyfriend as she drank, and then offered some to Teddy to try. He was immediately taken with the taste of the chocolate. He giggled and both Harry and Ginny smiled at him. They both were completely in love with the small boy they were lucky enough to get to raise.

"Hey, so I was thinking about what's going to happen when we get to Hogwarts." Ginny started slowly.

"What do you mean?" Harry honestly didn't see where she was going with this.

"Won't it be problematic if a student is dating a professor?"

"Oh, damn. I guess it will be. We'll have to talk to McGonagall about that."

"There's no way in hell I'm letting you break up with me again, Harry Potter."

"It hasn't even crossed my mind." He flashed the crooked grin Ginny loved so much across his face.

"It better not have. I wouldn't accept it this time. I was stupid to accept it last time."

"Gin, you know breaking up with you was one of the worst things I've done. You should understand that I'll never, ever do that again."

"Okay, okay, I believe you. We should talk to McGonagall, though. We can't just be fully together at school, you'd probably be fired if we were caught snogging between classes." Ginny shuddered at the thought. "I'm sure she'll understand if we talk to her beforehand and maybe agree not to talk to each other outside of normal teacher-student context when other students are around, especially when I'm in your class." She paused at Harry's nod, thinking. "I get to snog the hottest professor at Hogwarts." She gave him a cheeky grin.

Harry matched her expression while raising his eyebrows and continued to sip his milkshake.

**EHC**

A sharp knock on the front door awakened Wendell Wilkens. He had been working the night shift at his job for a week now, and it was really taking a toll on him, so he slept the entire day. This was the first time he had been awakened. If he really thought about it, it had been a long time since anyone had knocked on his door, and hearing it now made him uneasy. Another knock. This one was brisker and sharper. Noting the sense of urgency in the knock, he sleepily hauled himself out of bed and to the door, still in his pajama pants that were three sizes too big. He unlocked the heavy wooden door and was surprised at what waited on the other side.

Hermione and Ron stood rigidly on a doorstep which, according to the phone book they had found at a welcome center, separated Hermione from her parents. She rapped on the door with a tight fist, her other hand clasped tightly in her boyfriend's. No one answered the first knock and Hermione began to worry, but she knocked again, more urgently. After a minute, the couple heard the lock turn and the door open. As the door opened, Hermione quickly dropped Ron's hand and turned to the person standing in the door frame. Her breath caught as she saw her father in front of her for the first time in almost a year.

He was thinner, she noticed, and he looked very tired but otherwise well. It was so difficult for her to realize that her own father had no idea who she was. "Hello, can I help you?" Wendell brought Hermione from her thoughts and she made eye contact with him.

"Hi. We were told this is where Monica Wilkens lives?" Wendell only nodded so Hermione elaborated. "We're visiting Australia and we were hoping Monica could show us around. You know, show us the important things to see when you're in Australia. Since she's a travel agent, I figured she'd know." Hermione rushed through this and she hoped it sounded convincing.

"Sure, sure." Wendell said, still appearing half asleep. "She'll be available tomorrow at around 10 if you want to come back then. She's away today and she won't be back until late tonight. Can I have your names so I can tell her you stopped by?"

"Oh that's great. We'll come by tomorrow. My name's Hermione and this is Ron." They bid Wendell farewell and apparated back to their hotel. By the time they stepped into the room, Hermione was crying. She tried to hide it but Ron knew her too well.

"Mione," He soothed, gently sitting down next to her on the bed. "You know they would remember you if they could. If they knew they would feel awful." Hermione turned away from him, not saying anything, wiping tears from her eyes. "I'm serious. You know I'm right, and tomorrow, if all goes as planned, you'll have your parents back."

She finally turned to him, eyes red with tears. "But what if they don't want me back? What if they're upset with what I did and they don't want anything to do with me?"

"That's not going to happen, Mione. Your parents love you and they know that you love them. They'll understand once they know why you did it." She had looked away again. Hermione knew he was right deep down, but she didn't feel it at the moment. "Look at me." Ron said tenderly but sternly. She turned her head but was staring down at her hands, not meeting her boyfriend's eyes. Ron gently tilted her chin up so she was looking into his eyes. He slowly closed the gap between them and planted a soft, tender kiss on her lips. After a few seconds they broke apart only inches and stared into each other's eyes.

"I love you." She whispered to him.

"I love you." He smiled. Hermione leaned forward and kissed him again, and Ron eagerly accepted. The kiss became more passionate as Ron wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, one hand around her waist and one tangled in her long curly hair. Hermione wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him close to her. The couple continued to kiss until they finally pulled apart, both breathing heavily. Hermione started giggling softly.

"That was amazing." She said slowly

"It really was. Incredible, really." They both laid back on the bed staring at the ceiling, their thoughts completely revolving around each other.

**EHC **

"Damn. I didn't think it would be this bad." Cobwebs littered the shop, things strewn about the floor. The shelves that were once full of life, stocked with colors, were practically empty. Those things that were still on the shelves were falling apart or laying down. It seemed like the shop had been deserted for months, which Ginny realized was true. She kicked an overturned bin and a rat scurried out from under it, making her shudder. Ginny and Harry walked tentatively through the mess towards the staircase at the back of the store. They stepped up the stairs, each one creaking as it held the weight of two teenagers and a baby. The door at the top of the stairs was slightly ajar, a dim light peeking around the corner. Ginny knocked softly on the door, causing it to creak and open slightly more. No one answered but Ginny could hear a shuddering sob coming from behind the door. The girl cast a worried glance at the boy next to her and motioned him down the stairs. "Can you start cleaning this place up a bit, I'm sure it would help him feel at least a little better." She whispered to him, lifting the baby from his arms. He nodded and quietly walked back down the stairs. She knocked again, shifting Teddy in her arms, but this time didn't wait for a response and walked into the room. Her brother was sitting on the small couch, his body heaving with sobs. She sat Teddy next to George on the couch, and then gestured for him to stand up. As he did, she wrapped her arms around him tightly, his head leaning on her shoulder.

"I can't do this," He said between sobs. "It's too fucking difficult."

"I know. You know what I think might help?" Without another word she scooped up Teddy who was playing with his toes and walked him down the stairs to Harry. When she reentered the room, she cast muffliato on the door and then she turned back to George, who had no idea what she was on about. "What I do when I'm angry or devastated is I just scream. I yell and scream about who or what I'm upset about, or about nothing in particular." George looked at her like she was crazy. "I'm not kidding. It really helps. Come on."

So they did.

The redheaded siblings screamed Fred's name until they cried and sobbed, vulgarly cursed until they were out of breath. After what felt like hours both their throats were hoarse and they sunk down onto the reupholstered couch hugging each other as if they were holding on for dear life. "Thanks, Gin." George said slowly after a pause.

"I really needed that too," she said with a shaky laugh. "You know what else really helps?" George looked up at her, again not following her train of thought. "Teddy. He's a life saver in situations like this." She stood up, holding her hand out to him to heave him up off the couch. He took it, smiling weakly at her, and they trudged down the stairs. Harry was waiting at the bottom, and Ginny motioned to him, grabbing Teddy slowly out of his arms. She pulled the whimpering child close to her chest, snuggling him tightly. She closed her eyes and held him there, breathing deeply. After a few seconds, she held him out for her brother to hold, and he grabbed him, pulling him close just as Ginny had, crying into his hair. Ginny rubbed his arm comfortingly and then grabbed her boyfriend's hand and walked out of the store with him. Harry looked at her, confusion and worry evident in his gaze. "He'll be alright. He thought he was past it but reopening the shop just hit him hard again." She wiped her own tears from her eyes. Harry nodded sympathetically and gathered her into his arms.

"And how are you?" He asked her, kissing her hair.

"He was my favorite." She sniffled. "I know that's awful to say," She giggled a little and continued, Harry smiling at her wiping the tears from beneath her eye. "But he was. He was the one I trusted the most, the one I could talk to about anything, and he wouldn't judge me or try to solve my problems like the others. He taught me so much, not just about pranking, but about being a kid, and then being a teenager. I know I have five others, but it's really not the same."

"I know, Gin." She leaned further into him, sniffling.

As usual, the couple was beginning to attract stares, and still very aware they weren't officially a couple to the public, they hurried back into the once warm and inviting shop. "Fred would want us to move on." Ginny began briskly. "We've been crying ever since he died, and that's truly the exact opposite of what he would want. Especially from us; his partner in crime and the girl who never cries. You know I'm right." She reprimanded Fred who looked guilty.

"Yeah but," The redheaded boy started weakly.

"No buts. You know what? From now on, no excuses. I know you miss him, so do I, but it's time for us to get off our sorry arses and move on with our lives. We'll always miss and remember our brother, but we're not grieving him anymore. Now," she said after a deep breath and a pause. "Let's focus on getting this shithole back to the way it was before. George looked affronted but smiled despite himself.

"Fine, mum." He teased, rolling his eyes.

Ginny gave him a look which was far past dirty and grabbed Teddy from his arms, heaving him onto her hip with practiced ease. "You're going to sit down with Harry and talk things over with him. You're going to get this place cleaned and back to where it started, Harry seems to have already started on that, and then you're going to discuss where we go from here. Be prepared to tell me about it when I get back."

"Where are you going?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"I have an errand." With that, she turned and left the shop bouncing the baby on her hip, the bell tinkling behind her.

"Your girlfriend can be a bitch." George turned to Harry, grinning.

"That's fair." Harry conceded. "We'd better get started."

**EHC **

Once again Hermione and Ron found themselves on number 54 Hickory lane. Hermione shivered with the knowledge that she could get her parents back today. For the first time in almost a year, they could recognize their own daughter. As usual, however, she was nervous. Nervous that the plan wouldn't work. Nervous that if it did, the change was irreversible. Nervous that even if they remembered everything that they wouldn't forgive her. She was awoken from her trance by the opening of a door. She assumed Ron had knocked. Bracing herself to see her father when the door swung open, she was thrown off by her mother standing there, just as oblivious as her husband had been as to who Hermione was.

"Hello!" The older woman greeted warmly. "You must be... let's see," She looked down at her clipboard clicking her tongue. "Hermione and Ron! That's right. Come in, come in!" Hermione looked at Ron before stepping through the threshold with him. Well, this was definitely her mother. "Come on over to the living room. I'll grab us some tea." The couple walked into the living room slowly, as if unsure as to what was going to happen. They sat down timidly on the edge of the couch at Wendell's gesture. He had been sitting in the arm chair, and he flipped off the telly as they sat down. Hermione smiled painfully at him. Monica appeared not a moment later from the wallpapered kitchen. Hermione noticed that about this house. Everything was wallpapered. She suspected there was no wall in this house that hadn't been papered. Again, similar to what her childhood home was, though she refused to allow her parents to paper her room, instead deciding to paint it a soft lavender.

"So, dears." Monica began, setting down the tray of tea and biscuits and wiping her hands on her apron. "What are you interested in seeing here? I mean, why did you come to Australia of all places?"

"Actually, Hermione interrupted, growing quite nervous, though she hoped not visibly so. "Before we start, may I use your lavatory?"

"Of course, dear. It's straight down the hall. First door on the left." She pointed to a small hallway behind the living room, adjacent to the kitchen. Hermione smiled weakly at her mother's beam and stood up strictly, walking down the hallway. Her palms were starting to sweat by the time she had sat down on the closed toilet, firmly shutting the door behind her. She felt like vomiting. Gripping her wand in a death grip, she exited the bathroom, and walked slowly back down the hallway, her feet dragging, the nervous thoughts coursing through her brain. She stopped right before the hallway spilled out into the cozy living room, relieved to see that her parent's backs were turned to her. Ron was facing her, and he noticed her standing there, giving her a small smile and a wink. She raised her arm, her wand shaking in her hand. Pointing her shaking hand at the backs of her parent's heads, she began to cry. She shut her eyes tightly and nonverbally whispered the spell, tears slipping down her cheeks. She first hit her mother and then immediately hit her father, squeezing her eyes shut again once she was properly positioned. She heard silence, not daring to open her eyes.

"Hermione?"

Bit of a cliff hanger here, sorry:) Remember to review, and I'm sure I'll update more often. The more feedback I get the more I tend to write. It's not always purposeful but it just happens.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading this far! This chapter is a tiny bit longer than usual, so I hope you enjoy. Let me know any suggestions you have or any characters you want to come into the story. Please review! They make me write much faster and give me inspiration. Enjoy the chapter!

"Hermione?" Her mother raised her voice slightly.

"Mum?" The girl in question responded hesitantly. She still wasn't sure if it had worked.

"Hermione, where are we?" Hermione bit her lip to keep from smiling, eyes welling up for another time that morning. It had. These were her parents. Her mum and dad. Her mum and dad knew who she was. Deep down, she really hadn't expected it to work.

"Seriously, mine," she looked up at her father who used the nickname only he did. "What's going on?"

"Let's... sit down, and we'll explain everything," Ron suggested from behind the family.

For Harry and Ginny, the days went by rather slowly. They enjoyed it that way, however. The couple spent the mornings either degnoming the gardens, making beds, or any other trivial task Mrs. Weasley came up with. Ginny was confident she only had them doing these things so they wouldn't have all day to spend solely with each other. Neither of them minded, because sitting around all day got extremely dull after a while.

At lunch, George would come by and eat with the three of them left at the house, and the talk usually consisted of the latest piece of gossip George picked up from through the windows of his shop. When they finished eating, George and Ginny would head off to the store to work on whatever needed doing that day, and Harry would go off to one of his properties.

Through the many inheritances he had been left, Harry had received a number of properties. A few days after their shopping trip, Harry had received an owl from Gringotts apologizing for a mistake in his accounts. The bank had failed to mention that he had also inherited the Peverell fortune. Since the fortune was old, a good amount of the money had been filtered out into smaller accounts over the years. This made the fortune itself rather average-sized, but the biggest asset hadn't been touched. The Peverell mansion.

Harry was eager to see it, though the thought of living in it hadn't even crossed his mind. He knew he wanted to live somewhere a little smaller and somewhere that felt a little more like home.

The past few days Harry had seen his former home in Godric's Hollow, Lupin and Tonks' house, and a few others that had belonged to the different families. Out of the four inheritances he received, three of them had manors or mansions. He had seen the Black mansion, which had been sickeningly rich. Everything was made of the finest materials, even down to the crystal doorknobs. Harry had left quickly, not interested in making a vision for it yet. When he had visited the other properties Harry had been able to come up with an idea of what he wanted to be done with them, but he really didn't have a clue for this one. He'd have to ask the Weasley's thoughts. The one property he hadn't visited was Potter manor, his father's childhood home. He already had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to use Potter manor for, but he figured he should go check it out and see what shape it was in any way. He spent the entire afternoon there, trying to decide what needed to be done to make it liveable. There really wasn't a rush, in fact, he had a few years, but he was still pretty excited.

When he apparated back to the Burrow before dinner, Ginny was already home. George lived at the shop, so it was only Ginny who came home at night. "Hey, Gin, Mrs. Weasley" Harry greeted walking into the kitchen where the two women were preparing dinner.

"Hello, Harry dear." Mrs. Weasley called out, not looking up from her recipe. Ginny wiped her hands on a towel, smiling at her green-eyed boyfriend. She grabbed his hand, abandoning her carrots she was slicing, and walked them to the back garden.

"What did you do this afternoon?" Ginny asked him, curious.

"I looked at a property and then did some stuff for school." He said easily. "What about you? Did you guys make any progress at the store?"

"Yeah, we did. Just as much as any other day. I don't want to talk about it right now though."

"That's ok, is something wrong?"

"Nope, I just want to spend time with my boyfriend and not talk about work. Is that too much to ask?" She poked him cheekily. "When do you have to leave for Hogwarts, anyway?"

"The 15th. I thought we weren't talking about work though?" He responded, pulling up bits of grass from the yard.

"We're not, I just wanted to know how much time I had left being your boyfriend while we don't have to pretend we're not dating. Hey, did McGonagall ever respond to your owl?" Ginny turned so her head was laying in Harry's lap, and she looked up at him.

"Yeah, she did. She said what we expected. We have to strictly be student and professor while we're at school. The only thing she said is that we could be together on Hogsmeade weekends, or at times when neither of us is expected to be anywhere else, and when students won't wonder where either of us is. I thought that was pretty reasonable."

"Yeah, it seems like it. I guess I won't be going to Hogsmeade a whole lot then," She grinned.

Harry smiled back down at her, smoothing her hair. "Where's Ted?" He asked her curiously.

"He's napping. Went down about an hour ago, so we should have some time before he wakes up."

"Want to go flying?" Without an answer, Ginny stood up and ran in the direction of the broom shed, Harry not far behind. She reached the shed first and grabbed Harry's firebolt, leaving him with the old clean sweep 7. Harry gave her a dirty look as she kicked off the ground, grinning at him. He flew after her, wind flowing through his hair. He was getting closer, but not quite catching up to the girl ahead of him. He flew behind her, watching her long red hair blowing behind her, catching the sun. _God, she's gorgeous _he thought. Ginny turned around as she felt his stare and smiled at the stupid grin on his face.

"What are you grinning about?" She teased.

"Just about how I'm going to leave you in the dust." He said smugly, pulling ahead of her. She laughed out loud.

"Yeah. You and your clean sweep 7?" She sped ahead of him again.

"Shut up. I wouldn't be making fun of my own broom if I were you." Harry was enjoying this.

She didn't reply but just flew lazily in circles, still managing to stay inches ahead of him. They flew for what seemed like hours until Harry finally caught up and they flew parallel to each other, starting to dive. The couple dove towards the ground, adrenaline coursing through them as easily as the wind in their hair. Right before they hit the ground, Harry pulled his broom up and swerved into his girlfriend, causing her to lose her balance as they both tumbled to the ground.

Laughing, they lay tangled up in each other, chests heaving in an attempt to catch their breaths. The couple continued to lay on the grass, watching a leaf blow lazily past them.

"Your broom is garbage," Harry said grumpily. Ginny burst out laughing.

"Can you entertain the idea for a second that I may just be faster than you, regardless of what broom we have or don't have?"

"That's a possibility," He considered, falling silent, clearly in thought. "But that broom really is awful."

"Oh, I know. It's a piece of shit." She too fell silent before lapsing into another fit of giggles, curling her legs into her chest as she sobbed with laughter.

"What's so funny?" He asked, shifting his attention from a particularly grey cloud to the girl next to him.

"I have no idea" She managed to get out between laughs.

"I love you." Harry chuckled, turning back to face the now setting sun.

EHC

Hermione sat on the balcony of the hotel room and breathed in the clean air. She had explained everything to her parents two weeks ago, and while they hadn't been overjoyed at what she had had to do, they understood and were just excited to have their memories and their daughter back. Since then, they have spent every day with them. The foursome did everything from talking to going shopping to eating in different restaurants to sightseeing. Since their memories had been reversed, Hermione's parents were just as much tourists as Ron and herself were. The days were wonderful but Hermione quite enjoyed the nights just as much if not more. It was just her and Ron in the hotel room, something that her dad had not readily agreed to, but Hermione had assured him that they were in separate beds, and Ron wasn't used to sleeping in a room by himself, having shared with at least Harry almost all the time since he was eleven. He agreed even more readily when he discovered that his daughter had slept in a tent only accompanied by two boys for months. They also hadn't revealed to Hermione's parents that they were together. Sure, it would come up eventually and they would have to address it, but for now, they played it off as though they were just good friends. If her parents noticed anything, they didn't address it.

So it was that they woke up together on the eve of their return, naked, their limbs tangled together. They had started out the trip sleeping in separate beds but gradually moved to sleep together. It wasn't until the night before that they had actually done anything. "Morning, love," Ron kissed Hermione.

"Morning," she smiled sleepily at him. "Do you remember last night?"

"Of course I do, Mione. It was incredible." After a pause, he continued "what about you. Do you remember?"

"Yeah. It really was amazing." She lied back in the bed, staring at the ceiling. "We did remember protection, didn't we?" Ron recognized a nervous edge in her voice.

"Of course we did. You're Hermione Granger. I specifically remember you casting it."

"Good." She leaned over and kissed him hard, tracing his lips with her tongue. Ron opened his mouth allowing her access. He moaned and pulled Hermione on top of him, her breasts pressing into his chest. She wrapped her hands around his back, pulling him closer while one of his hands tangled in her hair as the other reached down to grab her arse.

Just as Hermione was about to pull away to cast the spell once more, a knock was heard coming from the hotel room door. The couple sprung apart and Ron grabbed his clothes, tugging them on as he hurried to answer the door. Hermione rushed to the bathroom to dress. As she was buttoning her shorts, she heard Ron talking to her parents through the heavy bathroom door.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger! Hello! We were just getting ready to head home. Hermione's getting dressed in the bathroom, and we'll be ready to go." He motioned for the older couple to come in and they sat down on the bed that hadn't been slept in for over a week. Ron sat down on the unmade bed and smiled sheepishly at them. Even after these couple of weeks, he still felt uncomfortable around them. They all heard a door opening and Hermione came out and sat next to Ron, an appropriate distance away. She smiled when she saw her parents.

"Morning mum, dad!" She greeted them.

"Good morning Hermione. Your mother and I have something to tell you, and I don't know how you're going to feel." He looked at his wife for reassurance and continued at her nod. "We've decided to stay here, in Australia."

"Why?" Ron could tell Hermione was upset by this news but she kept on a brave face in front of her parents.

"Well, our jobs are here, and aside from you, we don't really have anything tying us to England. You would be enough to make us go back, but you can do that thing you call apparating, right?" Hermione nodded and let him continue. "You can apparate to see us whenever you want, and we can always take a plane to see you." Hermione didn't say anything as her father finished. She really hadn't seen this coming.

"We really love it here. We've made friends and have steady careers and everything. It'd be a shame to lose all of that, especially when you're not even going to want to live with us. You'll be at school and then I'm sure you'll move in with one of your friends or Ron here." Her mother appeared as though she was pleading with her.

"Why would I move in with Ron?"

"Once people date and get serious about their relationship, often they move in together, Hermione. I thought you knew that." Hermione blushed slightly and thought about what to say. "Don't even try anything. We both know. We knew there was a reason you invited Ron and not Harry, and we've seen the way you interact and look at each other when you think we're not paying attention." Both Ron and Hermione were bright red.

"You too are like we were when we were your age. Totally in love. You can tell it's not some fling relationship." Her father interjected.

Hermione finally found her voice. "Why did you let us stay in the same hotel room then?"

Her mother's answer was simple. "Because we trust you. You're both adults, and as we understand, you've both already handled twice as much responsibility as an average adult should in their lifetime. We figured you deserve to be treated like adults."

"Thank you, mum." Hermione was truly touched.

"Now. Let's get you both going. I understand today is a very important day." Mr. Granger reminded all of them.

EHC

A loud crack indicated the arrival of the young wizarding couple. When they appeared in the yard, it was past dark but the garden was brightly lit by lanterns and fairy lights. There were probably twenty people out in the garden milling around talking and drinking. The couple weaved through the crowd, not recognizing about half the people towards the door that spilled into the living room. Here in the house, they were able to recognize more people.

"Ron! Hermione!" A shout was heard from across the room. They followed the voice to see Ginny. "Hey, guys! How was Australia?" Ron had written to Harry and Ginny the week before letting them know they had found her parents but his sister hadn't heard from them since.

"It was great," Hermione told her honestly. "My parents decided to stay, though."

Ginny looked sympathetic, "I'm sorry Mione. You'll still be able to visit them though."

"Yeah. Where's Harry?" Hermione quickly changed the subject. Ginny giggled and pointed over to the other side of the living room where Harry was talking with a woman neither Hermione nor Ron had ever seen before. The woman looked much more enthused about the situation than Harry, in fact, Harry looked desperate for a way to escape the conversation without being rude. Unlike Ginny, Ron was sympathetic towards the boy and waved at him.

Harry saw his friends and politely excused himself from the conversation with the witch and made a beeline for the four of them. "You're back!" He hugged each of them. "How was Australia?"

"It was nice, but we can talk about that later. More importantly, who was that? Ginny got competition?" Hermione teasingly waggled her eyebrows.

"Her?" Harry looked incredulously at Hermione. "Oh, God, no. I honestly have no idea who she is. I don't know half the people here." Harry appeared peeved.

"Whatever happened to 'small intimate family gathering'?" Ron looked around at the probably 50 people gathered in the small house and yard. He didn't think the house could take much more.

"You know that was never going to work with mum. She has no meaning to the word 'small'. Besides, we didn't invite all of these people. It was originally going to be just us, Ted, mum, dad, my brothers, Fleur, Audrey, Seamus, Dean, Neville, and Luna, but either someone let something slip or people invited people who invited people. I think I vaguely know some people but others I just have no idea." Ginny burst into giggles as a middle aged wizard wearing long purple robes walked by, clearly intoxicated.

"Not really what I had in mind." Harry turned around to avoid the stares of two young witches. Ginny threw them a dirty look.

Mrs. Weasley then called for cake so the guests gathered around and sang to Harry. Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Teddy, and George stood near Harry. The situation would have been funny if they all hadn't known how uncomfortable Harry was. Without even waiting to grab a slice of cake, Ginny grabbed Harry's hand and whispered to Ron, "I'm taking him upstairs, everyone who wasn't on the original guest list better be gone by the time we come back down." Ron nodded and Ginny scampered up the stairs with Harry, earning stares and waves along the way.

The couple approached the room and noticed the door open. Ginny shot Harry a look saying _what the fuck?_ She swung the door farther open. In her room were two little kids playing on the rug. "Hi, boys." Ginny was using the voice she used with Teddy. "Where's your mum? Why don't you go down and find her. I think there's cake downstairs." The two boys got up, excited at the prospect of cake, and ran down the stairs. Ginny walked further in the room, Harry behind her, and shut the door, leaning against it. Once she had locked it she shut her eyes and let out a tired laugh. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry, babe."

"It's not your fault, Gin." They stepped back to sit on her bed and laid back so Ginny's head was leaning on Harry's shoulder.

"I told Ron to get everyone out, so let's just stay here until he does." She laughed again and leaned over to kiss her boyfriend.

A few minutes later a knock on the door alerted the couple. "It's me." They heard from behind the door. "Everyone who wasn't invited left but people who actually know you want to see you, Harry." Hermione's voice was distinct, a hint of humor in her voice. They got up and entered the living room a moment later, where only familiar faces met them.

"There he is!" George called when he saw Harry. "Sorry about all this, Harry. You just have so many adoring fans." Harry rolled his eyes and shot him a look. "Well, Boy-Who-Lived, you've got some gifts." He gestured to the other side of the living room where a large pile of gifts sat. "Those are from the party goers, and these," He gestured to a smaller pile, "are from us." Harry smiled and awkwardly walked over to the smaller pile. This part was always awkward for him. Harry hated the attention being put on him. Nevertheless, he opened the gifts.

Percy and Audrey gifted Harry some nice robes and new parchment for the school year. From Bill and Fleur he received some advanced spell books and a nice chair for his office at Hogwarts. George, unsurprisingly, gave him a collection of the finest products WWW had to offer, along with some items in the final stages of testing. Harry was nervous about these items but George assured him they would be useful for school. From Hermione he received a number of books on teaching, specifically surrounding the Dark Arts. She also gave him a muggle book called a planner, which apparently was very useful in staying on top of your school work. She informed him that she also had one so that they could stay on top of their work. Harry was secretly irritated about this present, because it took away his excuses for not turning in homework. Ron had given him another broomstick servicing kit, as Harry had used his last one up to its very last leg. Also from Ron was Chudley Cannons merchandise. Ron was still determined that Harry would become as much of a diehard fan as he was. As Ron gave Harry the gift, he noticed Ginny get up quickly and exit the house.

Only two gifts were left by the time the others had been opened. One was a small rectangular box and the other was a small envelope. Harry reached for the envelope and carefully opened it. Inside was a singular piece of paper, though thick, it couldn't have had much on it. He flipped it over and read the words carefully scribed in the center of the page.

_Not a replacement. _

Harry recognized his girlfriend's handwriting. Truly having no idea what this meant, he looked around, his eyes falling on her standing in the doorway. Following his gaze, the rest of the family saw her, a small smile on her face.

"An owl." Harry stated the obvious. On his girlfriend's arm was a small owl, probably half the size Hedwig had been. A big grin grew on Harry's face.

"She's yours, love." Ginny looked almost as pleased as Harry did. The owl was brown with gold specks and big eyes. The owl was hooting contentedly as she perched on Ginny's arm.

"Thank you, Gin. She's amazing." Harry stepped closer and gently coaxed the bird to sit on his arm instead. Harry looked into her eyes for a little bit, and the Weasley's could see the joy in his eyes.

"Here, Harry. Give her back to me and open mum and dad's gift." Ginny took the bird away from her owner.

"Well, Harry, the gift is kind of from all of us. Just open it and you'll see." Mrs. Weasley handed him the thin box, the rest of the Weasley's almost unable to contain their excitement. They knew this gift would make him so, so happy.

Harry opened the box slowly, and gasped when he saw what was inside. He looked up at the Weasley parents as if to see if it was some sort of mean practical joke. Mrs. Weasley nodded reassuringly at him, tears shining in her eyes.

In the box was a long, gold clock handle with intricate details around the edges. The most notable thing about it was the small picture of himself smiling up at everyone. He knew exactly what it was, it just seemed too good to be true. The new clock hand he was given exactly matched those on the eccentric clock Harry had marveled over the first time he had visited his best friend Ron's house years ago.

"This is long overdue, Harry." Mr. Weasley told him, pleased at the boy's reaction. "You've been a part of our family for years. Here, I'll put it up." He gestured to take the gift from Harry and the whole family watched as he attached it to the already full clock. As he attached the piece, it immediately turned to _home _like most of the others. Harry fought back tears.

"Thank you all, so much. This means a lot to me."

The family spent another hour or so in the living room, talking and hanging out. It wasn't until after a bottle of firewhiskey and several games of exploding snap that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley declared they were off to bed. A few minutes later, Bill and Fleur took Bill's old bedroom and George, Percy, and Charlie took Charlie's room while Audrey was given Percy's for the night.

This left only Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry in the living room. They talked for a while, discussing school, quidditch, and other subjects until Ron and Hermione decided to go upstairs too, heading to Ron's room. Hermione and Ginny were supposed to be rooming together while Ron and Harry were in Ron's room, but somehow that hadn't really worked in the past as Ron and Hermione were eager to spend as much time as they could together.

"I got you something else." Ginny told her boyfriend once her brother was gone. "Hermione helped me with it, I think she and Ron have them too." She pulled two small mirrors out of her pocket and handed one to Harry. "All you have to do is look into the mirror and say my name, and mine will immediately activate. I believe you can reach Ron and Hermione's too by saying their names. Give it a go."

"Ginerva." Harry spoke into the mirror, grinning at Ginny's scowl at the use of her full name. Nevertheless, it worked. Ginny's now softened face appeared on Harry's mirror and his appeared on hers. "Thanks, Gin. Now we'll be able to talk more often."

"To end the 'call' you just hold your finger on the back for three seconds, and it should end."

The couple spent a while longer sitting on the couch, talking about nothing important until they fell asleep, arms wrapped around each other.

Thanks for reading! Remember to review!


	10. Chapter 10

Hey! Sorry this chapter took so long, I've been focusing on work and school so I haven't had a ton of time to write. Thank you everyone who reviewed! I loved reading them and using the feedback. Please keep reviewing I love to hear your thoughts!

"George!" His sister called up the stairs to him.

"Coming!" She heard a call from through the closed door. A moment later, George appeared in bright magenta robes, holding a matching set over his arm. "These are yours." He threw the robes at her.

"Why magenta?" She complained. "You know I hate pink."

"Why do you think I chose it?" He winked as she rolled her eyes.

"When's Verity getting here?"

"Um, I think soon. We open in a half hour. I told her to get here at least twenty minutes early."

"Ok. That sounds fine. We better have a crowd. It's not like we haven't advertised enough. It's been all over Diagon Alley and everywhere else."

"Eh, I wouldn't expect huge crowds today, since it is the first day. If we're going to have crowds, it'll be right before you lot go back to school. That's when I'll really need your help. Speaking of school," George segued as the duo added the finishing touches to the stocked shelves. "When is Harry going back?"

"The fifteenth," Ginny answered without looking away from the skiving snack boxes she was stacking on the top shelf. "The day before Ron starts training."

The siblings heard a little tinkle of the door and Verity walked in, her blonde hair shorter than Ginny had remembered it. She had a bright smile on her face and was wearing the robes that Ginny hadn't put on yet. "Hey, Verity!" George called her. "Gin, go get changed." Verity took her place as Ginny went to George's bathroom to change.

When she came back out, George was showing the new products to Verity. "Right. We have five minutes until the store opens. Ginny, you're on the cash register." Ginny nodded and took her place. "I'll be around helping customers, and I think we have a couple of demonstrations planned for this afternoon. Verity, you do whatever else needs to be done."

And that was that. At precisely 9 am, George propped the door open and put his sign out announcing the reopening. Today was going to be extraordinarily difficult without his best friend, but George knew this is what Fred would have wanted.

"What are your plans for the day, dears?" Mrs. Weasley was serving large helpings of bacon and eggs to the members of the golden trio who had just awoken.

"I think we might meet Neville and Luna and walk around Diagon Alley for a bit, maybe stop by George's grand opening." Hermione apparently was the only one who remembered the plan they had discussed last night as the boys just shrugged. "I think we said we'd meet them at ten. That gives us about an hour and a half to collect ourselves." She said slightly disdainfully with a glance at Ron who was on his second heap of eggs.

"Yeah, that's right. I forgot about that." Harry remembered, handing Teddy to Mrs. Weasley who wanted to hold him. An owl flew through the open window that was letting the warm summer air in. He flew towards Harry and dropped a letter, flying to perch on another window sill, awaiting a response. Harry opened it curiously, noticing the Hogwarts crest stamped on the back.

He looked up after reading and told them "McGonagall wants me there tomorrow. Damn."

"What happened?" Mrs. Weasley asked the question they were all wondering.

"Apparently there's some last-minute restoration to do and things of the sort. We start all of that on Monday and she wants me to have time to settle in. Especially with Teddy."

Hermione bit her lip in thought. "Wow, Harry. That's really soon."

"What about Ginny's birthday?" Ron brought the event back to Harry's attention.

"Shit," Harry said under his breath. "I guess I'll have to leave for a night and come for her party. That's this Tuesday, right?"

"Yeah. Don't let Ginny know you forgot the date." Ron teased Harry.

"I remember it's the 11th, you prat. I just forgot what day of the week." Harry defended himself.

"Well you all should be going, it's not getting any earlier. I'll take care of Teddy and the dishes." Mrs. Weasley shooed them from the table and started to charm the dishes into the sink.

"Thanks, mum," Ron called, already halfway out the door.

The trio apparated to Diagon Alley, where they planned to meet Neville and Luna. They saw the two from the other side of the bookstore where they had planned to meet. Hermione, of course, wanted to pick up a new book on NEWTS potions.

"Luna, Neville!" Harry called across the store, attracting their attention. The duo looked up and hurried over.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione!" Neville returned the greeting. "It's so good to see you guys!"

"How are you both?" Hermione asked as they joined them.

"We're good. We arrived early so Neville could help me get my school books." Luna gave the three a hug. "Aren't you excited to be going back to school, Hermione?"

"Yeah, thrilled, really," Hermione replied earnestly. "Did you hear Harry's coming back too?" Hermione continued conversationally as the five lazily strolled down Diagon Alley.

"That's wonderful Harry!" Luna turned to him. "You'll be in classes with Hermione, Ginny, and I."

"Well, not exactly." Harry corrected slowly. At Luna's confused look he continued. "I'm going to be the DADA professor."

"That's amazing, Harry!" Neville clapped him on the back. "How'd you get that job?"

"It's a long story, but basically McGonagall needed a professor, and I wanted to go back to school but my schedule wasn't anywhere near full. It's going to be a bit weird teaching you all and the rest of your year, but McGonagall thought it alright because of the DA."

"You'll be brilliant," Luna assured him. The five friends walked down the street, headed nowhere in particular. They attracted stares, most directed at Harry, as usual.

Somewhere along the way, Harry noticed Luna and Neville holding hands and grinned. "Wow. I'm really fifth wheeling here." Hermione looked at Neville and Luna and saw their hands intertwined. She also smiled.

"Poor Harry." She mocked him playfully. "We'll visit your girlfriend soon." Harry shot her a look.

"Since when are you and Luna a thing, Neville?" Ron was genuinely happy for his friend.

"Pretty much since after the battle." Neville squeezed Luna's hand.

"I'm happy for you guys." Hermione beamed at them. They continued down the street.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Neville spoke. "Where are we even going?" The group began to laugh. They had been walking with their own thoughts for almost five minutes, none knowing where their destination lay.

"I have no clue. Let's just walk around for a bit, maybe grab some ice cream." Ron suggested. "We can't get lunch yet and we wanted to visit George's later, so I think that's our best bet."

The foursome took his idea and walked around, catching up with each other, gossiping about Hogwarts, and just acting like teenagers who hadn't been through a war. At around 11:45, they decided to grab some lunch and headed to a secluded cafe at the end of the street. Harry had never been before, but Luna suggested it, saying their sandwiches were divine, and Neville confirmed. They walked through the door into a small room, several tables scattered neatly about. The walls were a light, dusty green color with white accents, lit by old-fashioned sconces. A rather short woman greeted them as they found their table. She had a distinctly American accent that was rarely heard around the area.

"I'm Lisa and I'll be your server today. I also own the cafe."

"Hi Lisa," Harry greeted tiredly as they all sat down and ordered their food.

A while later, empty plates and full stomachs in tow, the group left the quaint little cafe and headed back up the street to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The street was gradually becoming more crowded, wizards and witches alike bobbing in and out of shops, continuing along the sun-bathed street. Even from a few blocks away, they could see the newly restored shop, colorful and loud yet again. They could see the bustle of the shop, people going in and out. The sound of laughter was carrying down the street. As they approached the store, they could clearly see just how crowded it was.

Walking inside, Harry immediately got in line, as his favorite cashier was working, the other four following him. The line was at least ten people long, so by the time they were second in line, they had been standing for nearly twenty minutes. Harry could see Ginny from around the customer and grinned at her magenta robes he knew she hated.

Ginny gave the customer a smile and thanked them for coming in as she handed him the bag he had purchased. She turned to the next customer, not paying attention to who it was, and was utterly shocked when he leaned forward and kissed her, just as she was about to ask him if he'd found everything he had been looking for. She looked up at him, expecting him to be some creepy guy and was about to go get George when she realized who it was.

"Gods Harry!" She gave him a reproachful look and then saw who he was with. "Neville! Luna! What a surprise! How are you both?" Neville and Luna responded politely until Hermione pointed out that a line was forming behind them. They all moved out of the way and Harry whispered something to Ginny, uncomfortable under the stares of multiple customers. Ginny nodded and called to George. "George, I'm taking my lunch break! Verity will cover the register!" She nodded to Verity stocking shelves, and the older girl replaced Ginny at her post. Harry and Ginny hurried to a back storage room, leaving the rest behind.

"Gin, I have to tell you something." He stopped her as she tried to kiss him. She looked slightly put out but looked up at him expectantly. "McGonagall wants me at Hogwarts tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" She looked surprised. "Why tomorrow? I thought you had until the fifteenth? We were supposed to have a week."

"I know, I know. She wants us to get situated and there's a lot more work that needs to be done than she thought, especially with the lessons I'll have to catch up on." Harry replied, studying her expression. She didn't respond. "Anyway," He hurriedly continued, "I have to go tomorrow. I want you to come. I'm one of the first professors getting there so you can come and help me move in. We can make a day of it. It'll be just the three of us." He continued to look at her, falling silent. After a minute, she looked up at him.

"You know I'm happy for you, right?" He nodded. "It's just hard. I'm trying to be excited for you and all, I'm just going to miss you. Even when I see you in class, it's not the same."

"I know, Gin. I get it. I'm kind of dreading this entire year if we're being honest. Let's just focus on tonight and tomorrow. What time do you get off?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "We close at six."

"What's with the eye roll?"

"Nothing." She smiled at him. "Come here." She held out her hand and Harry took it, pulling him close. She kissed him. Tenderly at first, but as Harry kissed back, it became more desperate, as though this would be the last one. As they kissed, their bodies came closer and they wrapped around one another. Finally, Ginny pulled away to get air, smiling at the boy in front of her.

"Do you know how gorgeous you are?"

"Gorgeous enough to get the Chosen One, apparently." Ginny grinned cheekily.

"Shut up." He pressed his lips against hers again, tracing them lightly with his tongue. Ginny opened her mouth slightly and allowed Harry's tongue to enter.

A minute later, the pair heard the door being opened and they separated just in time to see George enter the room. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt. I see you're enjoying your lunch, Gin." George smirked at her as he slipped past them to grab something off a shelf. Harry and Ginny stared intently at the floor while George maneuvered around boxes on the ground to access the shelf he needed to. Once he had gotten what he needed he turned back to the couple who had spaced themselves out slightly. They looked at George expectantly as he studied them. Finally, he broke the silence. "Well, got to get back to it. This has been fun." George walked to the door and stopped. He paused and then again faced them. "Look. I know I'm supposed to be in protective older brother mode here, but you guys are perfect together. I know just how serious you both are about the other and your relationship, so" he paused, looking uncomfortable. "Just don't do anything on my boxes." He didn't say anything else but flashed Ginny a wink and left the room.

"My lunch break is almost over anyway, and that was kind of a turnoff." Ginny found a mirror leaning against a wall and began adjusting her robes. She saw Harry in the mirror behind her as he wrapped his arms around her and began to kiss her neck.

"At least it wasn't Ron." He told her before nibbling her ear. She leaned into the touch. "God damn, I'm going to miss you."

"Stop, I don't want to think about that now." He was now licking and sucking her neck, making his way down her chest. She shuddered and pushed him off. "I have to get back to work. I'll see you tonight. I'm taking you out for your last night."

"Fine." They both adjusted their robes and hair. Harry turned to her as he exited the room. "I love you."

Harry discreetly walked out of the storage room to find the shop even more crowded than when they had entered. He looked around for his friends and found them gathered around a demonstration George was doing. He stood close to Hermione and she nudged him with her shoulder. "Have fun?" she whispered to him, out of earshot of the other members of their group.

"Shut it." He put his hands deep in his robe pockets as Hermione chuckled at him. Ron noticed Harry and the five left, Hermione winking at Ginny who had resumed her post at the cash register. The group walked out into the sunshine bathing the cobblestone alley.

"Neville, Luna." Hermione turned to them as the group reached their apparition point. She spoke in a low voice to keep from being heard by Harry who was walking ahead with Ron. "We're having a bit of a goodbye dinner for Harry tonight if you'd like to come. He doesn't know yet, We'll tell him in a bit."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun, we'll be there. What time should we get to the Burrow?"

"Probably around six."

Neville nodded. "See you then." He grabbed his girlfriend's hand and disapparated.

When the three friends arrived back at the Burrow, they were met with wonderful smells drifting out of the kitchen. "What's going on tonight?" Harry turned to his two best friends questioningly. They didn't respond but kept walking until they were in the kitchen with Mrs. Weasley.

Harry tried again. "Mrs. Weasley, what's happening?" She looked up from the tart she was preparing and smiled at him.

"We're having a few people come over to celebrate you going off to Hogwarts and teaching. Nothing huge, and Ginny made me promise that we'd be done early so you two can go out." She turned her attention back to her tart. As much as Harry didn't want to have to entertain the company and be the center of attention again, he always appreciated how much the Weasleys cared.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley. I really appreciate it." He told her sincerely. "Hey, where's Teddy?"

"He's upstairs, I expect he'll be waking up any minute." Harry nodded and quietly walked up the stairs to his best friend's room. He stood in the doorway, watching his godson sleep, his turquoise hair flattened against his forehead. He was wearing a light blue footie, and Harry could see his chest rise and fall as he slept. He really is perfect. How did I get so lucky? The older wizard thought, a small smile playing across his lips. Then Teddy started to stir, and he began to cry. Harry rushed over and scooped the small boy into his arms.

"Shhhh, it's ok Ted." He soothed. "I'm here, you're alright." He held the whimpering baby close to his chest, rocking him back and forth slowly. Here, let's get you in the bath. If there was one thing that always calmed Teddy down it was bath time, well, aside from Ginny. She was always able to calm the baby down. Harry chose an outfit for the boy and they headed up the creaky stairs to the Weasley's only bathroom. He filled the tub with an inch or two of warm water and set Teddy in the bath. Harry used his wand to conjure bubbles, Teddy's favorites. He had learned the spell a few weeks ago, and it never failed to make his godson giggle in the bath. As he laughed and splashed in the bubbles, his hair turned a bright purple, making Harry laugh with him. The older wizard sat back against the wall, his arms resting on the sides of the tub, closely monitoring the child. He contentedly watched the child play, the rubber duck Harry had gotten him, much to Mr. Weasley's fascination, bobbing in the water.

There was a soft knock on the door and Harry addressed it. At his permission, Ginny entered the room, scooting around the door and closing it behind her. "Hey!" He greeted her, surprised, as she sat down next to him.

"George let me go early." She explained. "I have a feeling that won't happen too often, but he knows I want to spend some time with my boys before they leave." She looked at Teddy as she said this, smiling as he grinned at her, again changing his hair to the trademark red on all the Weasley member's heads. He giggled as she played peek-a-boo, hiding her face behind her curtain of red hair. Harry watched his two favorite people play for a couple of minutes and finally reluctantly intervened.

"Ok, Ted. It's time to wash your hair and body. He scooted over to the tub and tickled Teddy, causing him to squeal. Ginny sat back and started to tell Harry a story about a customer that had hit on her at the shop today, only to annoy him, while Harry shampooed Teddy's hair, which had returned to his preferred turquoise color. Once Harry had finished washing and rinsing the toddler, Ginny handed him the towel that made the wearer look like a duck, and he scooped Teddy up into it, wrapping him tightly. He held Teddy's squirming body up to his mouth and blew raspberries on his belly, making him giggle even more if that was possible. They got Teddy dressed in a white and green striped onesie with jeans and a sweater with a hood that made him look like a dragon.

After that, the evening passed quickly. The party was intimate, though, with the size of the family, it still felt rather large. After a couple of hours, people started to wish Harry well and leave the Burrow, headed back to their homes. By nine, only the residents of the house still remained. "Mum, we're going out!" Ron called to her from his place on the couch. The four got up and walked out into the dusk. Teddy had been laid down an hour ago. He was starting to sleep through the night, though he was still waking up half the nights to eat. Harry hoped that wasn't the case tonight, at least until he got home, so Mrs. Wealsey didn't have to worry about feeding the baby. "Where are we going again, Hermione?" Ron brought Harry from his thoughts.

She sighed impatiently. "I told you, Ronald. You'll see when we get there." They had reached the end of the wards surrounding the house. "Now, grab my arm." The three did as they were told, and Hermione apparated to an alley by a busy muggle street. They quickly left the alley, Ron looking around nervously, and entered onto the street, surrounded by people. Hermione started at a brisk walk, the rest keeping up rather easily. They walked for about a block before Hermione turned into a crowded pub along the sidewalk.

"Why here?" Ginny voiced the thoughts of the three followers.

"I didn't want us to be recognized, but I still wanted to get out of the house and do something, just the four of us. We all know Harry's going to be too cool for us when we get back to school."

Harry gave her a look as they entered the bar. They found a table in the corner and sat down, waiting for the waiter to come around to their table. When the waitress did come, the group ordered their food. Once the waitress had walked away to get their drinks, Ginny got up and motioned for Hermione to stand up as well.

The older girl followed the younger through the pub headed toward the bathroom. Ginny went in to pee as Hermione leaned against a sink, staring at her reflection.

"Mione," Ginny called through the stall wall.

"Yeah." Hermione turned around, crossing her arms as she looked at the stall door where she assumed Ginny would be.

"I was just thinking, who do you think is the head boy?"

Hermione considered this for a second. "I'm not going to tell you I haven't been thinking about that, but I honestly have no idea. I would assume someone from your year because I think Harry and I are the only ones going back."

"That would make sense. I just can't think of anyone in my year who could possibly fit the bill." She giggled, thinking about the boys in her year. Colin was a prefect, and everyone thought he would be head boy, but obviously not now." Ginny got silent. Hermione waited for a response but when none came she asked

"Gin, you ok?"

"Yeah, I think so. Just miss him is all. We were really close."

"I know Gin, I'm sorry." Hermione had turned back around to look in the mirror as she heard a toilet flush and a stall open. The occupant came next to Hermione and began washing their hands, and Hermione turned to look at them, expecting it to be Ginny but gasped when she saw who it was.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Who do you think is in the bathroom with them?

I have a pretty good idea of what the next chapters going to look like so that probably won't take as long to write. Favorite, Follow, and Review!


	11. Chapter 11

Hey everyone! Just a warning, this chapter deals with some heavy topics, namely abuse. Let me know of things you liked about the story, things I could improve upon, or things/people/plot points you want to see. Thanks for reading!

Another flush could be heard from the loo and this time it was Ginny who took her place at the sink next to the woman. Hermione looked at Ginny with wide eyes and gestured to the door. Ginny flashed her a questioning and slightly concerned glance and followed the older girl back into the restaurant. Ginny dodged the restaurant patrons to a secluded corner near the bathrooms.

"What the hell was that?" She looked genuinely concerned.

"That," Hermione moved her gaze from the floor to her friend's eyes. "That was Petunia Dursley."

"Who?" Hermione stared at Ginny for a second and saw realization dawn on her face. "Oh shit. Really? How do you know?"

"I've seen her a few times at King's Cross when they picked Harry up for the summer. She's-" Hermione stopped suddenly as she heard a door close behind Ginny and Harry's aunt walked by them tight-lipped, clutching her handbag as if she were afraid it would be taken off her person. Four eyes searched her as she walked past, barely noticing the two girls in the corner. Ginny started to go after her, anger starting to flash in her brown eyes, but Hermione grabbed her arm. "Don't. You know that's the last thing Harry would want."

Ginny was still glaring daggers at Petunia as she disappeared around a corner but abandoned her conquest, if only for Harry. "Damn it, Hermione! How can I not go after the person who made my boyfriend's childhood hell? I know it's bad from what Ron has told me, but I have a feeling there's still so much we don't know about."

"I know, G, but Harry's finally somewhat content, and I know he doesn't want you going after her." Ginny's anger was quickly turning into grief and fear. "Come on, let's go back to our table. Do you need a minute to compose yourself before we go back to the boys? Harry's going to be concerned if he sees you in this state."

"No, no I'm fine. Let's go." Ginny focused on Harry in an attempt to appear collected and unaffected.

Though crowded, the duo could see a flash of red hair by the bar as they passed, and the girls turned to meet Ron, but Ginny caught a glimpse of the table the four had previously occupied and saw the familiar messy hair she loved so much. "Come back to the table when you get Ron, Mione." Hermione nodded so Ginny made a beeline for the corner table, ignoring the stares she could feel following her from the forty-year-old guys at the bar. When she arrived, she scooted into the booth next to her boyfriend who was staring into his drink, clutching it like a lifeline. She noticed his demeanor and frowned. "Harry are you ok?" She placed a comforting hand on his thigh and felt him tense up drastically, retaliating from the touch. She pulled away. "Hey." Her voice was raised in alarm. "What happened?" He bit his lip as though fighting back tears and she could see his foot rapidly tapping on the leg of the table.

"Harry James Potter look at me." His gaze snapped up to meet hers and his foot faltered before tapping faster than ever. "You're freaking me out." She reached out to touch his arm and he instinctively pulled away sharply, looking down at the table once again. She studied him for a minute and then snapped her gaze to the table to mirror her boyfriend. Shit. She thought. He saw her. He saw Petunia.

"Harry, love." There was even more urgency in her voice. She wasn't quite sure how to approach this topic but figured it was best not to beat around the bush. "Did you see her?" His leg finally stilled, and it gave her all the answer she needed. "What happened." No response. "Harry, love. I just want to help you. Tell me what you need. Do you need to talk? Do you need me to leave you alone?" More silence. The silence coming from Harry drowned out the noise of the busy pub. She was completely focused on him, and as far as she knew, his silence was not a good sign. Just as she was about to give up, she heard his faltering voice.

"I didn't talk to her, and I don't think she saw me." He breathed deeply and swallowed. She tried to meet his eyes, concern etched in her brow.

"So it was just seeing her that made you upset?" He nodded, still not looking up from his spot on the table.

"Yeah, it just," he faltered for a second. "It just brought back memories. I'm ok. Really, I am." He finally looked up at her, and Ginny could see the pain in his eyes.

"No, you're not. Harry, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine I just, I love you ok, and I hate to see you like this. I would hope you would trust me enough to talk to me about this." More silence and Harry again returned his focus to the table.

"I've explained some of my childhood to Ron. I don't know what he told you and Hermione." He paused, gathering his thoughts, as Ginny gave him her rapt attention. "But I barely told Ron half of it." Ginny could tell he was having a lot of trouble sharing this with her, and he paused again, taking a deep breath. "I told Ron about the emotional abuse, at least part of it, and vague details of the neglect, but that's not everything, and honestly, that's the easiest part to talk about."

"Please don't feel like I'm pushing you to talk about it, just tell me when you're ready, if ever." He shook his head.

"No. I think it will help to talk it over." At her nod, he continued. "It was much worse than what I led Ron to believe." Harry gulped. "Starting from when I was four years old, I was forced to do chores. They started off smaller because I was so young, but they were still way out of range of a four-year-old. They said I had to 'earn my keep'" He looked over at his girlfriend and smiled weakly when he saw that she already looked disturbed. "When I messed up, it wasn't a kiss on the cheek or even a slap on the wrist. In the beginning, I was locked in my cupboard for days at a time, only coming out to do more chores or get Dudley's leftovers, and that was if I got lucky." The black-haired boy could see her sympathetic look and turned to her. "Gin. When I tell you stuff, I'm not asking for sympathy or anything, I just want you to know."

"Harry, I know. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me this."

"Gin, I trust you more than anyone." She still was hesitant to touch him. She had a horrible feeling that his earlier reaction had something to do with what was coming up in his recounts.

The couple looked up as a waiter approached their table. "Have you all decided what you're wanting to eat tonight?" Ginny looked at Harry and then ordered a simple dip as both teenagers had rather lost their appetites. She turned her attention back to him.

"What happened later?" She braced herself for his response.

"What?"

"You said all those punishments were 'in the beginning'. What happened later?"

"Oh. Later the emotional abuse and neglect got much worse, sometimes I wouldn't eat for a week at a time. It was always made very clear to me that Dudley was, and always would be, more important than I was and worth more. Not just to them but to our neighbors, kids at school, and pretty much everyone. But then, when I was about five or six, that's when the physical abuse started. No. I'm overreacting, it wasn't that bad and I shouldn't complain." He looked scared and very unsure of himself.

"Harry. Look at me. You are not overreacting. I want you to tell me. I think it will be good for you to share this, and you know I won't tell anyone anything you tell me."

He shook his head slightly. "I know you won't, Gin. It's just, I've never talked about it and I don't really know how to put it." His foot began tapping even faster. "My uncle told me I was never allowed to tell anyone anything or he'd kill me." Ginny began to say something but he cut her off. "I know, it's stupid to still be scared because I haven't seen him in like a year and he's not in control of me anymore, but I guess it was just so ingrained into me that I'm still scared." His girlfriend didn't reply for a while.

"Harry, you are safe with me."

He took a deep breath. "When it started, I was kind of surprised that Vernon would do that, but I learned to manage the pain really quickly. He hated it when I cried so to avoid getting much worse I learned to keep my mouth shut."

"Love," Ginny's voice was a trembling, horrified whisper.

"I got used to it. After a while, so much of me was constantly injured that I kind of went numb to the new injuries." He chuckled darkly.

"H-how," Ginny's voice faltered. She seemed scared of what his answer would be. "How often did this happen?"

"Usually every day. He would go to work and when he got home if I had done anything that Aunt Petunia or Dudley didn't like, he beat me. If I did something he didn't like, it was much worse."

"What about Petunia and Dudley? Were they involved?"

"No. Very aware, but not involved. I don't think they approved of what he did to me, but they were both too scared to ever say anything."

"I need to hold you, but I don't want to hurt you or make you nervous." She looked at him hesitantly holding out her arms. "You know I would never, ever hurt you, right?" He nodded and slid closer to her, leaning on her chest, hot tears threatening to fall down his cheeks. Ginny sat in the hard booth, her legs folded under her. She rested her head on Harry's and rubbed his back.

"Gin," She turned around, hearing the whispered concern behind her. "What happened?" Ginny looked away from her brother and to Hermione.

"He saw her." Hermione looked at Harry and sat down on his other side. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and sat up, turning to Hermione.

"Who?" Ron was still standing by the table looking worried but confused. Ginny gave Hermione a pointed look which the older girl interpreted immediately. Ginny then stood up and grabbed Ron's hand, dragging him away. "Oi!" He shouted and yanked his arm away when they were a reasonable distance from the table. "Seriously, what happened?"

"Petunia was here."

"Petunia." He repeated slowly. "Oh, shit, that Petunia." He looked at Ginny the same way she had looked at Hermione when she heard. "I'm assuming Harry saw her."

"Yeah, no shit."

"I swear to Godric, I'll kill her. I'll bring George, Charlie, and Bill and we'll all go murder that entire family. Hell, you and mum can come if you want."

"Ron, Ron, stop. That's not what Harry wants. Believe me, I've already considered it. He's too nice and noble for that. He'd never forgive himself for letting that happen."

"Damn him. Those people were rotten to him for 16 years, and he's acting like they just had a row over Thanksgiving dinner. Believe me, Gin. If you knew what I know about those years, you would not be able to control yourself."

"I know more than you do." She said quietly, looking at their shoes. "I wish I didn't, but he told me a lot. I have a feeling that it's still not all, but it's more than we could even imagine." She looked up to meet his gaze again. "He asked me not to tell anyone what he told me, not even you. Hey, hey. Stop." She cut him off as he started to speak. "You're his best friend, I know that, but he just doesn't want things to spread."

"But I'm his best mate! Why does he trust you so much more than me?"

"Hate to break it to you bro, but he doesn't snog you. At least I hope not." She laughed at her brother's look. "No. I know he trusts you and wants you to know. You know Harry, he never tells anyone anything. He's the most private person I've met, and I think that has something to do with his childhood. It's just that he doesn't want to talk about it a whole lot, it hurts him, but he knows I won't let him shut me out. I'll talk to him when he's in a better spot and see if he'll let me tell you and Hermione some of it. Anyway, where were you with Hermione?"

"I've never been to a muggle pub so Mione was showing me around. It's really different from a wizard's pub." The siblings spent a while talking about nothing of importance, watching people come and go throughout the pub.

By the time the two got back to the table, Harry was visibly less distraught and he was laughing about something with Hermione. It was almost as if they were drunk. "What is going on?" Ginny's voice was amused.

"Harry ordered a butterbeer and they gave us this. I don't know what it is, but it's really good!" Hermione almost whispered. "This is my fourth one! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside." She took another big swig of the beer and gulped it down.

"Merlin never thought I'd see a wasted Hermione. Or a wasted Harry for that matter." Ginny chuckled and hurried to grab the drink out of Harry's hand before he spilled it all over himself. "Come on, Ron. Get Hermione." Ginny grabbed Harry's wallet and put some muggle money on the table and grabbed his arm. "I'm taking him home, you get Hermione and come along." She rolled her eyes as Harry leaned down and dramatically kissed her. She could taste the alcohol he'd had. "Come on, we'll get you home. She exited the pub, her boyfriend putting what felt like all his weight on her, and returned to the alley they had used to get here.

The couple landed in the yard, their friends right behind them. "Let's take them upstairs," Ron suggested. "Who's room should they go in? I don't really feel like babysitting but I don't want them to be alone, that seems dangerous." He watched amused as Hermione tried to get a piggy-back ride from Ginny. She lost her balance and fell over, laughing as Harry knelt down to check her pulse but ended up tickling her.

"Probably wise. Let's put them in my room. In case they fall down the stairs, it won't be as far." It was Ron's turn to roll his eyes. They walked as quietly as they could to the stairs, hoping to avoid their mother until they were safely tucked into bed. In order to keep them quiet, Ron and Ginny had to clap their hands over their partner's mouths. Harry thought this was funny and stuck his tongue out to lick Ginny's hand. She yanked her hand away, giving him a dirty look, and replaced it once she had wiped it on her shirt. This even had Ron chuckling with the others.

They got to Ginny's room and laid the intoxicated friends down on their respective beds, Harry occupying Ginny's. "Let's grab their wands," Ron suggested. Ginny nodded and reached into Harry's back pocket to grab his wand. As she leaned over him, he reached up and tickled her armpit.

"God, Harry. You're such a child when you're drunk." She and Ron left the room as Hermione started to laugh and they went to the kitchen to find their mum.

"Hey Ron, Ginny." Their mother was wiping her hands on a dishcloth. "How was your time?"

"It was very… eventful," Ginny replied carefully.

"What's that supposed to mean? Where are Harry and Hermione?"

"They're upstairs, sleeping. They're super tired and Harry has to be up early tomorrow."

"Is that so? Well, why don't you go join them, I know you have an early morning too, Ginny. Unless you'd prefer to stay down here and wait for your father with me." Mrs. Weasley raised her eyebrows at her children.

"Goodnight mum."

They checked on their friends and found them both passed out cold, Harry's glasses still on his face. Ginny decided to take Harry's bed in her brother's room, snuggling up with his godson and falling quickly asleep.

Someone was jackhammering his head. That was the only possible reason it could feel like this. Harry opened his eyes slowly and was surprised to find himself in Ginny's room. He rolled over expecting to see the red hair that was so familiar but instead found the curly brown hair of his best friend was in the bed next to his. He could see her stirring too. "Mione" He groaned. "What happened?"

"Shhhhhh." Hermione's eyebrows scrunched in pain. "We're hungover Harry. Let's go downstairs. I'm sure Ginny has some pepper up or something." She heard Harry groan as he rolled out of his girlfriend's bed. She heaved herself up and they trudged down the stairs, rubbing their temples.

Ginny grinned when she saw Harry and Hermione coming into the kitchen. "Hey, sleepyheads!" Ginny sipped her juice with a sideways smirk.

"Gin, shut up! Every word is agonizing."

She mock pouted. "Aww baby, I'm sorry. Come sit here." She patted the seat next to her and tried to stifle her laugh as her boyfriend slumped in the seat next to her. "Here. Take this." Ginny handed him a potion and he drank it immediately. She studied his features and watched as the potion took effect and he visibly brightened.

"Damn. What happened?"

"You and Hermione got completely wasted last night." She stifled another giggle as she handed the same potion to Hermione who had taken a spot on the other side of her.

"How bad was it?" Hermione was now flinching from embarrassment rather than pain.

"At one point you tried to piggyback Gin and it ended in a tickle fight with Harry." Ron was having almost as hard of a time not laughing at her embarrassment.

Hermione visibly cringed. "So pretty bad."

"Yeah. Don't worry though, no one saw you, not even mum. Harry, finish up eating, we have to be at Hogwarts in an hour and I know you haven't packed yet. Go get started and I'll grab Teddy from mum and get him ready." Ginny hopped up to grab the baby. Winking cheekily as Harry rolled his eyes.

"Ok, make sure he gets his bath."

She scooped Teddy up from the garden where he was with Molly. When she got back to the table where Ron and Hermione were sitting, she fed him mashed bananas and talked with the couple about their plans for the next couple of weeks before Ron started training. A half-hour later, Teddy was bathed and dressed and Harry had everything belonging to him and his godson packed up and ready to floo to Hogwarts. He had had the furniture and everything extra shipped to Hogwarts the week before.

"Gin! We're going to be late!" Ginny ran down the stairs and stood beside her boyfriend, ready to enter the floo.

"You ready?" She looked up at him, judging his expression.

He took a deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be." He turned around as he heard Hermione behind him.

"Good luck, Professor Potter." The last thing he saw was her wink as he disappeared in the green flame.

Thanks for reading! Reviews give me life and a desire to write! Let me know what you think!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry about the wait for this chapter. It's not as exciting as some other chapters are/will be, but I had to get some stuff out of the way. I hope you enjoy it! Favorite, Follow, and Review! **

"Wow. This looks bigger than it was in fourth year. Remember, when the Inquisitorial Squad brought us up here and Umbridge questioned us?" She turned around to face him, an amused expression on her face.

"Too well." Harry's expression did not match hers, but he gave a dark chuckle. His girlfriend didn't notice, she was too busy concentrating on the layout of the room and where she figured everything would go.

"I'm assuming the apartment is through that door," She gestured to a door on the side of the office. "Well, let's work on getting this all set up." There was a pile of furniture in the middle of the room. "Let's start in here, we haven't got all day." Two hours later, the room and the office were finally set up, after being rearranged three times. Ginny scooped Teddy up from his crib that Harry had set up first and playfully snuggled him. "I'm gonna miss you, Ted." She spoke to him in the voice that was exclusively reserved for Teddy, but Harry had a feeling it was the same voice she would use for her own kids one day.

"You'll still see him." Harry pointed out as he smoothed the bedspread.

"Yeah, every other Saturday." She held the baby's cheek to her own and Harry laughed at the two of them looking at him intently.

"You really think I'm only going to see you twice a month?"

"Ideally no, but you're going to be a teacher! McGonagall even said we weren't allowed to see each other except on Hogsmeade weekends." She came closer to him as he held out his arms to Teddy, but Teddy just snuggled deeper into the redhead's shoulder. Harry gave him a mock hurt look as Ginny giggled and swayed him side to side.

"Yeah, there are ways to work around the rules without breaking them. McGonagall doesn't have a problem with us being together, as we were together for long before I even knew I was going to be a professor, she has a problem with a professor with a student being together, for the image you know, and it's not like we're going to snog in front of your classmates."

"They all know about us anyway; I don't think any of them really give a fuck." She turned and laid Teddy down in his crib.

"Well, unless they're jealous of me. I'm sure loads of blokes would give anything to snog you."

Ginny looked into his eyes and could see his insecurity, so she grabbed him and planted a firm possessive kiss on his lips, holding Teddy between them. "We won't let that happen, will we? Besides, it's me most girls would be jealous of. Hell, even a lot of guys are jealous of me."

"They can be jealous all they want, but you are mine." His low whisper almost sounded like a growl as he pulled her close again for a more desperate kiss. The couple pulled apart when they heard a brisk knock on the door and turned to see McGonagall standing in the doorway, an amused expression on her face. "Sorry professor." Harry looked thoroughly embarrassed.

"Figured we'd get it all out of our system, so I don't go snogging him in the middle of class." Ginny gave her boyfriend a smirk.

"That would be ideal." The professor struggled to keep her stern expression. "Potter I just came to see if you were settling in alright, which I can clearly see you are, and to let you know dinner is served at six. We're going to start going over things tomorrow at nine if you choose not to come down for dinner." She noticed Teddy and walked over to the crib, glancing back at Harry. "May I?"

"Sure, yeah." Harry was slightly startled at this question coming from his former professor. She lifted him gently from the crib and held him against her chest, cooing to him softly when he started to whimper but never betraying her usual composure.

"Why didn't he stay with Andromeda again?"

"She just felt like she didn't want to completely raise another child, and she wanted Teddy to have younger guardians. I know she'd take him if there were no other options, but I don't mind. She told me she'd take him whenever I needed a break, which I'm sure will be pretty often."

"That's another thing, Potter. The daycare setup I had planned for Teddy fell through, so unless I can find someone else, I don't think Teddy has anywhere to go. Do you think Andy would mind taking him during the day?" She handed Teddy to Ginny who bounced him in her arms.

"I don't think she would, I'll check with her. I don't really see that I have another option unless your mum wants to take him, Gin."

"I'm sure she would, but ask Andromeda first, I think she'd want to. I know she wants to have Ted, just not full time."

"Just let me know. I'll see you later Potter, and Ms. Weasley, I'll see you in September."

**EHC**

"Looking forward to it professor." Both teens replied simultaneously. The older woman turned back around.

"Now that you are also a professor, there's really no need to call me professor. Unless you'd rather I call you professor as well."

"There's really no need, professor," Harry responded. McGonagall gave him a stern yet humored look. "I figured it would be appropriate to call you professor when we're in the presence of students." He grinned, glancing sideways at the 'student'. McGonagall's eye twinkled as she left the room.

Ginny hit her boyfriend with a book when their teacher left the room.

"Ouch." He grinned sheepishly at her. "Gin, I'm going to run by Andromeda's before dinner to see if she can take Ted during the day. By that time, it'll probably be close to when I need to be back. Want to come?"

"Yeah, let's go." The three stepped into the floo and tumbled out in Andromeda's living room. The older woman was in the kitchen making tea when they arrived.

"Andy?" Harry called when they composed themselves. "Hey, how are you?" He asked sincerely when he saw her.

"Harry, Ginny, Teddy. I'm doing alright! What brings you my way?" She motioned for Harry to hand her her grandson.

"Well, I had sort of a favor to ask." Harry began as she handed the baby to her. "McGonagall just told me the place she was going to have Teddy go while I'm teaching fell through, so he doesn't really have anywhere to go."

"I'd be happy to take him, assuming that's what you're asking." She continued at Harry's nod. "You know, I was just thinking about it yesterday and I really wouldn't mind having Ted stay here. It does get lonely by myself from time to time." She smiled at the baby in her arms. "Now, Harry. I'm not trying to take him away from you, but I love having him here. If it would be better for you, I can keep him during the week, and you can have him on weekends. I know you love having him too, but that way you can have some time during the week when you're not working. How does that sound?"

"That sounds brilliant." Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "I do love having Ted, but I was not looking forward to having him all the time, especially when I need to study and lesson plan and things. This works much better." Harry smiled at the two of them. "If there ever is a night or afternoon, you'd rather me take him I'll always be up for that, though. I'll keep all his things with me, so I'm always prepared. Do you have everything you need for him here?"

"I should. Remus and Dora left me some of his things including a crib. I don't think I have enough clothes since he's getting so big, but we can go shopping tomorrow. Can't we Teddy?" She bounced the child in her arms.

"Good. If you ever need a break during the day, I'm sure my mum would love some time with Teddy." Ginny interjected and Andromeda smiled gratefully at the younger girl.

"I'll probably take her up on that offer more than once." She handed Teddy back to Harry who snuggled him goodbye, and Ginny did the same. The baby got returned to his grandmother, and the couple left, promising to see him soon.

They tumbled back into Harry's office and Ginny helped her boyfriend up. "How are you feeling about this? Honestly." Ginny concernedly pried him.

"I'll really miss him during the week, but I think it's good for all three of us. I'll have more time, hopefully, spent with you, Andromeda won't be lonely, and Teddy won't have to be with strangers during the day. Plus, I'll get him all weekend. I honestly think this is the best-case scenario."

"I agree. Plus, you're going to have so many detentions Teddy would have had to stay with someone in the evening most nights too." She teased.

"How bad do you think my students are going to be?"

"You'd be surprised. Walk me to my apparition point, will you?" Harry nodded and the two walked hand in hand through the school they had grown up together within into the warm evening sunlight.

**EHC**

"Ginevra Molly Weasley! You're going to be late to your own birthday party!"

"I'm coming, Mum! Give me a second!" Ginny rushed down the stairs, her green dress robes flowing out around her. She entered the kitchen to her mother preparing too much food, as usual.

"Good. Ron and Hermione will be back any minute and everyone else is set to arrive at seven."

Ginny headed out through the garden to meet her brother and saw them walking toward the house as she did. "Did you get everything?"

"Yeah we did. Now I'll be able to have all my textbooks read before school starts."

"I would expect no less. I've got to go grab Teddy from Andromeda's before Harry gets here. Go help mum set stuff up in the kitchen Ron." She apparated away before her brother could respond.

"Mione, why don't you go put stuff upstairs and I'll help mum in the kitchen." Hermione nodded and headed upstairs, books in tow. "Hey, mum." Ron greeted his mother as he entered the kitchen. "Need help?"

"Yeah, Ron. That would be lovely. Why don't you put these on a plate?" She handed him a tray of biscuits.

"What are you going to do when we're all gone?"

"Don't even talk about that. I don't know what I'm going to do. Besides, won't you be here at night?"

"George, um, told me I could come stay with him so I think I'll do that. Anyway, won't it just be like when we were all at Hogwarts?"

"It just feels different. I don't know why or what about it, it just feels strange. When were you planning to tell me you were moving out?"

"It just never came up. I'll visit, and it'll give George an excuse to come back too. You could always have Teddy come over a lot too, I'm sure Andromeda would like that. I'm sure Harry can sneak Mione and Gin out to see us too."

Hermione came back into the kitchen just as Ginny returned with Teddy. "Hey! Teddy and I are back!" She sang. "Andromeda was lonely so I told her she could come too. She'll be here in a few minutes."

"What are you so cheerful about?" Ron eyed her suspiciously.

"Am I not allowed to be happy on my birthday?" Ron gave her a look and wandered out into the sitting room where he heard voices.

"Hey, Nev, Luna!" He greeted his friends. "How are you?" Hermione came out behind him.

"Ginny's in the kitchen, but she's being weird I wouldn't go near her."

"Ron, come off it." Hermione chuckled. "She's just happy is all." She took her friend's jackets. "When are you going back to Hogwarts, Neville?"

Neville smiled gratefully as Ginny handed them both drinks. "Happy birthday, Ginny. I go back on Sunday. I didn't need as much training as Harry did, since I'm only professor Sprout's assistant. I don't think I'll really be having anything to do with students, but I don't really have a problem with that. I much prefer plants if I'm being completely honest. How long has Harry been back?"

"He went back last weekend. It's only been a few days since he left, but it's still weird. He's really looking forward to teaching though. As a matter of fact, he should be here. I don't know when he's coming." Ginny looked around her friends to the garden but only saw Andromeda coming toward the house. "Oh, there's Andy." She hurried to greet her.

"Ron, what about training? When does that start?" Luna asked him curiously.

"I start on the sixteenth. I think I have about two years of training, and Harry is only required one, so we should become Aurors at the same time, which will be cool. I'm excited, it's been too peaceful if I'm being honest."

"Yeah, I'm wondering how Harry's going to manage not facing death for an entire year." Hermione joked.

"Who else is coming again?" Neville asked.

"Um, my dad, George, Demelza, and my boyfriend, who is late. I wanted to keep it small." Ginny shifted Teddy in her arms. "Oh, there's dad and George now." Ginny headed out into the dusk.

"Happy birthday, Ginny. Are you really 17?" Ginny hugged her dad and handed Teddy over to him as he walked inside.

"Hey, Gin." George and Ginny walked inside together to meet the rest of the party. Moments later, Ginny heard another familiar pop and Demelza appeared outside.

"It's been forever!" Ginny cried as she hugged her housemate. "I'm glad you could come."

"Me too!" Her friend replied earnestly. "I can't believe we're both 17 and seventh years. Time really has flown."

"Really. Hey, did I tell you that Harry's going to be teaching this year?" The redhead began conversationally.

"No! I don't even need to ask what he's teaching, I'm assuming."

"Yep, defense against the dark arts. He's so excited about it." The two friends walked inside, still chatting.

"Is he teaching our year?"

"Yeah, he's teaching every year. He was originally supposed to only do first through fourth, but then the other teacher fell through and McGonagall was desperate for someone." Ginny explained.

"That's going to be weird for all of us." She thought about it for a minute. "Won't that be weird for you two? I mean, assuming you're still together."

"Yeah, we are. We've talked about it and I don't think it'll be that weird. Plus, it'll be nice to not spend an entire year without seeing him, you know. McGonagall knows about us, but she gave us some really strict guidelines."

"I can imagine." The duo had reached the kitchen where her mum and dad were.

"Mum, dad. Everyone's here except for Harry, but that's to be expected." She rolled her eyes. "Oh, have you two met Demelza?"

"No, I don't think we have." Mrs. Weasley came over to the girls and handed Teddy to her daughter, shaking the hand of her guest. "I'm Ginny's mum, and welcome to our home. You two have been friends for how long?" She looked between them expectantly.

"Since third year." Ginny confirmed. "Everyone was too freaked out by me in second year to want to be friends with me."

"I'm still a little freaked out by her, but for different reasons." Demelza joked.

"Let's go back out everyone else. So are you seeing anyone?"

"Yeah, I'm seeing Michael Corner now. I know you two were a thing in fourth year, so I hope it's not awkward." Demelza looked nervous.

"Oh, no way. Michael was amazing, I was just too infatuated with Harry that it couldn't last long." She grinned. "I'm glad he's found someone though, and I'm glad it's someone as good as you. How long have you been together?"

"Since the end of May. We saw each other at a coffee shop and kind of hit it off." She giggled.

"Good for you guys. You definitely should have invited him tonight! Pretty much everyone here will have a partner, well if Harry ever decides to grace us with his presence. Well, everyone except for George. You can date him." Ginny suggested jokingly. "But seriously, if Michael is free and wants to come, he can."

"Okay, I'll send him a Patronus." Demelza excused herself to the yard and returned moments later with her boyfriend to find Ginny had joined the group.

"Demelza! How are you?" Luna greeted the girl from her year.

"Hey, Luna! I'm doing well. How have you been?"

"I've been well. A new species that my dad and I have been unable to identify has started eating the dirigible plums on the bush by our house," Luna replied sincerely. Demelza tried to hide her smile.

"I'm sorry. I hope you find the culprit."

"Hi, Michael." Ginny greeted her guest. "How are you?"

"Hey, Ginny, I'm doing well. How are you?" The boy looked extremely uncomfortable.

"I'm good, though I'd be better if my boyfriend actually showed up." She rolled her eyes for the second time that night.

"Oh," Michael looked surprised. "Are you still with Dean?"

"Dean?" She laughed. "Oh, God, no. We broke up in fifth year."

"She's with me." A voice behind her made Ginny jump and turn around to see Harry grinning behind her.

"God. You are a half hour late, Harry!"

"I know, I'm sorry. McGonagall kept me late, I tried to explain the importance of the occasion I was leaving for but she wouldn't let me go. But I'm here now, what did I miss?" He looked at the people Ginny was speaking with and returned to Ginny with a pointed questioning look.

"Michael just got here. I invited Demelza, and she told me that she and Michael were going out and I felt bad that everyone here had their partner, so I told her to invite him. You know, just another person for mum to feed."

"How are you, Demelza, Michael?" Ginny could see the subtle change in Harry's attitude as he relaxed.

The rest of the party was quite pleasant for the small group, and everyone enjoyed themselves and the cooking of the infamous Molly Weasley. Before long, Neville and Luna had to get home, and Demelza and Michael followed close behind. Andromeda had left far earlier with Teddy, leaving only family and honorable Weasley members. "Well, I should get going. It was good to see you, Harry." George stood up and shook Harry's hand. "I suppose I'll see you sometime around Christmas. If you'll even want to come back from the professor's high life."

"We'll see. I might grace you all with my presence."

"And Gin, you're coming in tomorrow, right?"

"If I must."

"Do you need me?"

"I don't think so, I've got Angelina coming in, so we should be good. You spend your time studying for the Auror entrance test. You'll need all the help you can get." He winked at his younger brother and left the house.

"Well, it's just us four. It's going to be a while before this happens again." Hermione reminded the other three. "Harry, how's it going so far?"

"It's been lots of one on one time with McGonagall. Don't really know how I feel about it."

"Have you done anything with curriculum so far? What's the seventh year curriculum like?"

"Hermione, he's been there two days. He probably hasn't done anything like that yet." Ginny reminded him with a smile.

"Yeah, she's right. We've started with discipline and rules for me and my classroom."

"Riveting stuff." Ron commented.

"What about your schedule?"

"I have two sections of seventh year DADA. Because people are returning, the houses aren't even, so it's not done by house, at least for your year. I have two sections of every year except for second and third, because so many people didn't send their kids back last year. First year is big because everyone's sending them back now. It's a mess. There are seven periods a day, so I'll probably have you every other day. Then I have a free period every other day that I share with you and Hermione, Gin. You two are supposed to help me keep up in charms and potions."

"Yeah, I'm sure a lot of studying will get done there." Ron scoffed. "Hey, Gin. Did I miss you opening your gifts?"

"Nope, I told people not to bring gifts. I don't like people making a big deal of it. I don't even think Demelza, Neville, or Michael knew it was my birthday. I'm sure Luna will give me something at school, she's stubborn like that."

"Damn. I forgot your gift at Hogwarts, I'm sorry, Gin. All I brought is your card." He handed it to her, and she opened it.

_Gin. I left your gift at Hogwarts on purpose. I do have it, but I knew if I gave it to you here, it would be opened in front of people, and I'd rather it wasn't. I want it to be between just us. Besides, this gives you an excuse to come see me when you get to school. _

_I love you. _

_H_


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry, it's been forever since I've updated, things have been crazy. I hope you enjoy this chapter and remember to review! Reviews give me the inspiration to write!**

Ron exhaled, trying valiantly to calm his shaking nerves as the heavy iron grate screeched open in front of him. He tapped his toes nervously and stiffly walked out of the lift. Ron didn't recognize anyone he passed as he continued down the long hallway. He wasn't sure if that was because he was so nervous or if there really was just no one he knew working in this department. He hoped it was the former.

He reached the end of the hallway and stopped to center himself and calm his shaking hands before he turned the brass doorknob under the plaque that read Auror Department. He opened the door to meet a bustling room, wizards and witches hurrying this way and that, all wearing the same deep red robes. Directly ahead of him was his destination. Garwin Robards, Head Auror. The sign to the right of the door read. Ron knocked sharply on the door, entering the room at the permission of the occupant. Robards glanced up and then looked back down at his paperwork.

"Weasley, right?"

"Yes, sir." Ron's voice betrayed him as Robards looked up.

"Don't be nervous. Aurors don't do nervous." Ron nodded. "I'll have you wait right outside my office for everyone else. We should have about four more trainees coming in, and our more senior Aurors you will be training with should be coming down too.

"Thank you, sir." Ron stepped out of the office and sat down on the bench next to the door. To his right was a wizard he hadn't noticed when he'd entered the office. "Hey." He greeted the wizard nervously. Ron thought he vaguely recognized him from Hogwarts, maybe a year or two above him. "I'm Ron Weasley."

"Jeremy Burton. Good to meet you." He held out his hand for Ron to shake. "You a first-year trainee?" He continued at Ron's nod. "Me too. This should be fun. I've heard a lot about you. You're friends with Potter, right?"

"That's me," Ron admitted. "Were you at Hogwarts when we were?"

"I think so, probably a year ahead of you, seeing as you're out of school now. My seventh year was the year Dumbledore died. I had to go into hiding last year, I'm muggle-born, so I'm only now able to begin training."

"Makes sense. I graduated last year." The two fell silent as someone new entered the office just as Ron had. Someone all too familiar. The duo on the bench groaned simultaneously and turned to look at each other.

"Do you know him?" Ron asked the older trainee.

"Yeah, he was in my year, an arrogant git I'd have to say. "I'm assuming you know him."

"Weasley?" The other man now stood in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

"Training to be an Auror, you?" Ron's voice was cold.

"You don't say! We'll be in the same training year."

"Lucky us, McLaggen." Ron scooted further down the bench away from the newcomer as Cormac McLaggen sat down next to him. The three sat in silence watching the bustle of the Auror department, waiting to be called. Finally, after another half hour and two more trainee arrivals that Ron barely recognized, Robards exited his office.

"Auror trainees?" Robards surveyed the group as they stiffened. "Most of you are here, we're just missing one." He checked the list held in his hands and looked up at them again. "Well, let's get started, no need to waste time."

**EHC**

"Hermione, calm down!" Ginny giggled at her friend.

"I am calm!" The older girl defended herself.

"You're bouncing on your toes. You need to have your composure if you're gonna be Head Girl. We're almost there."

"Gin, we're going to be seventh years! I mean it's weird that I'm going to be a year older than everyone else, but still, we're the oldest in the school!"

"I know, I know!" Ginny couldn't help but smile. "Let's get to the platform before the train leaves." The two hurried through the bustling station to get to the right platform, bumping into people accidentally on the way. Finally, after what seemed like a never-ending crowd, it cleared and they were able to cross between platforms nine and ten. "You have to sit in the front, don't you?" Ginny tried to remember what her friend had told her before.

"Yeah, I have about twenty minutes before I have to go up though, so we can find a compartment." The girls boarded the train, allowing a couple of second years to run up ahead of them. Midway through their walk down the train, Ginny spotted an empty compartment, probably one of the few left on the train. She and Hermione claimed it, leaving the door open as they pushed their trunks to the overhead. The two gazed out the compartment windows that overlooked the bustling platform.

"Were we ever that small?" Ginny asked, referencing a few boys who appeared to be brothers. They appeared to be first and third years, with a smaller brother who reminded Ginny of herself when she was left behind every year.

"Yeah, I guess we were. Wow, that seems like decades ago." The girls sat back in their seats as someone appeared at the door. "Luna! How are you? Come in and sit down!" The blonde smiled at the two as she put her luggage up and sat next to Hermione.

"Hello Hermione, Ginny! I'm doing well." The girls chatted for a few minutes about the classes they were most excited for as the train pulled out of the station.

"Well, I'd better be going, I have to talk to the prefects." Hermione had already donned her uniform and was adjusting her shiny Head Girl badge.

"Bye Mione, you don't have to stay up there the whole time, right?"

"No, I'll be back in probably an hour." Hermione left the compartment and the other girls heard her talking to someone outside. "Oh, hello. Where's your compartment? I'm going to need you to sit down until we get there if you can."

"I don't have one, I don't know anybody." Ginny was surprised to hear a small voice follow Hermione's.

"Here, I have some people you can sit with this time, though I'm sure you'll make friends before you know it. What's your name?" Ginny couldn't hear her mumbled response. As expected, Hermione entered back into the compartment that housed the two seventh years, this time a little girl in tow. She had dark hair pulled back into two french braids, and she was already in her robes. Her bright green eyes reminded Ginny starkly of Harry's. Luna and Ginny looked up.

"This is Maggie. Can she sit with you guys?"

"Sure! Hi Maggie, I'm Luna."

"I'm Ginny, it's good to meet you. You can sit down if you'd like, here I'll help you with your trunk." The older girl hoisted the trunk next to hers and sat back down next to the dark-haired witch. "Are you a first-year, Maggie?"

"Yep, I'm a first-year!"

"Do you have any siblings that have come to Hogwarts before?" Ginny was amused at how excited she was.

"Just my older brother, Micah. He's a fourth-year." Her legs swung happily over the edge of the seat. "I have a younger brother too, he'll come to Hogwarts when I'm a third-year."

"Well, it's very good to meet you. I'm Ginny, and I'm a seventh year. I have six older brothers, all of whom went to Hogwarts before I did. They've all graduated by now. Lunas an only child."

"What house is your brother in?" Luna asked Maggie.

"He's in Ravenclaw. I think it would be fun to be in Ravenclaw with him."

"I'm in Ravenclaw too!" Luna informed the girl.

**EHC**

He took a deep breath. I can do this. I don't have to teach until tomorrow, I just have to be there. Stand up and wave when McGonagall calls my name. That can't be too difficult. Harry paced back and forth, thoughts mixed up in his head. I'm just nervous because I haven't been to school in two years and now I'm a teacher. It won't be that bad. He quickly walked down to the Great Hall. He could hear the students coming from outside as he made his way to his spot at the Professor's table. Hagrid greeted him as he sat near the end, trying to calm his shaking hands. Maybe people won't even notice me. Not a lot of people know I'm teaching, so before I'm pointed out, maybe no one will notice. Trelawney sat down on the other side of Hagrid and the half-giant engaged her in conversation.

"Hiya Harry." Harry turned to see Neville sitting down next to him.

"Hey, Nev. You ready?"

"I am, but I don't have as much reason to not be. I'm just an assistant, you've got to handle these students by yourself." He grinned at Harry.

"Thanks, Nev. That really helps." As he spoke, the doors opened to admit the second through seventh years, or eighth years Harry supposed, causing the teacher's table to fall silent. He tried to look and see how many people he knew and only saw Hermione sit down at the Gryffindor table, the familiar red hair taking a seat next to her. He watched as she laughed with the people around her, and then she looked up at him. They locked eyes, and Harry longed to be a student again so he could sit next to her and laugh with her. Come see me after dinner he mouthed to her and she nodded, winking at him then turned her attention back to the people she was sitting with.

The doors to the Great Hall opened again, and the first years were led in by McGonagall, all looking around somewhat fearfully. The sorting went rather smoothly, Harry thought, with Adams, Robert getting sorted into Slytherin, Playtoch, Allison getting sorted into Hufflepuff, and Tichson, Margret getting sorted into Gryffindor. He noticed that Margret sat down next to Ginny, and they seemed to know each other. After that, McGonagall got up and started to speak.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts students old and new. We have quite a few changes this year, as I'm sure you can imagine. First of all, I'll start with our new professors. Mr. Longbottom here," Neville stood up. "Will be assisting Professor Sprout in the greenhouses, in hopes of becoming a professor one day." Neville sat back down at the scattered applause. "Teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts for all years, we have Professor Potter." Harry stood up at her gesture and waved to the students. He heard whispers go across the hall and then people began to applaud, as he was very familiar with, and he sat back down quickly. He was very aware of every student craning their neck to get a good look at him. "I know," McGonagall raised her voice over the chatter that had broken out, "that this is probably a shock, as Professor Potter is only one year out of school, and he never really graduated, but the other professors, people at the Ministry, and myself all believe him to be more than capable and experienced in this subject. I would ask my sixth and seventh years to be respectful of him and learn from his experience, even if he is your peer. If you fail to do so, we'll have another conversation." The students had silenced and all stared up at the Headmistress. "That brings me to my next topic of interest. Because of everything that happened last year, some students were unable to complete their seventh year. While most took the opportunity to begin in the workforce, two of those students have chosen to return to Hogwarts this year. Those students are Hermione Granger and Dean Thomas. There are only two of them, so they have been made head boy and girl, and they have their own dorm. We are excited they decided to join us again this year. They also will be attending all seventh-year classes. Now, as Professor Dumbledore used to say, Tuck In!" The feast was uneventful and happy. Harry shared a conversation with Neville and the food was as good as he remembered.

Afterward, He watched Hermione in her element as she ushered the younger students to Gryffindor house. He followed the students up and went to his office, sighing heavily as he slumped in his chair. A soft knock on his door interrupted his stupor. "I missed you." He stood up and hugged the girl who had entered his office. "How was the train?"

"Eh, it was okay." The couple walked through his apartment to the bedroom and laid down, Ginny resting her head on his shoulder. "I met a first-year on the train and she seems really attached to me. She's in Gryffindor."

"Hm. What's her name? I have first years two days from now." He stroked her hair and kissed her hairline.

"Maggie. Oh, how did the rest of the training go?"

"It was good, pretty uneventful. I'm getting nervous about tomorrow."

"You'll be fine! What's your schedule like?" She sat up and looked into his worried eyes.

"Third years, second years, and sixth years in the morning, my second section of third years, fifth years, and seventh years in the afternoon. The seventh and eighth years were combined in one section."

"That'll be interesting." She laughed. "It'll be nice to have a class with Hermione, though. We get our time tables in the morning."

The couple stood up. "Speaking of morning, I'd better get to bed."

"Oh, before you go, I wanted to give you your birthday gift. I didn't want to give it to you in front of everyone else, because I want it to be just us." Harry walked to his desk and pulled a small box from the drawer. He handed it to her and she opened it slowly, gasping quietly. "Oh, Harry." The necklace inside was an elegant silver horse intertwined with a stag. It was small and detailed, not flashy or heavy or extra.

"It's a promise necklace." Ginny started to speak but Harry cut her off. "We're too young and things are too complicated right now to get married, but I know I want to at some point. It could be in five years, it really doesn't matter, but I love you, Ginevra Weasley, and I want us to always be together."

"Harry, I love it." Her voice was almost a whisper. "I'm not normally one for jewelry, but this is small enough and pretty enough that I'll actually wear it. I want us to be together forever too."

"I'm glad you like it. I know you're not a jewelry person, but I figured you'd make an exception." He clasped the chain around her neck to where the charm fell just above the valley between her breasts. She turned around into him and kissed him softly.

"I'd better go. I don't want to be found out past curfew on my first night. I'll see you tomorrow." She exited and closed his door softly, heading to the Gryffindor seventh year dorm for the first time.

**A/N:**

**Thanks to everyone who's read and given me feedback on the story! I really appreciate it!**


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